


Do This Right

by AkariFields1008



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Abusive Ex, Aged Up, Character Death, Controlling Ex, Dead Talking, Drinking, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fire, First time writer, Forced Suicide, Hearing the dead, House on Fire, Kidnapping, Mortal AU, Sex, Smut, Spoiler Alert: Luke is a POS, Spoiler Alert: Reyna's not great either, Spoilers:, Suicide, Suicide mentions, They're in their 20s-30s, black mail, burning building, house fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-01-31 13:00:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 32,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18591757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkariFields1008/pseuds/AkariFields1008
Summary: In which two people are pushed and pulled by circumstance, hoping to find middle ground on which to be together."He had a point. I had been staring at her. It was hard not to; bright blonde hair tied back but still falling down past her shoulders in a yellow waterfall and a smile that could light up the darkest pits of hell. I heard her laugh a few times and I knew I’d be hearing it in my dreams for the rest of my life. And one time our eyes met, and it was brief - although it felt like forever -  before I looked away I caught a glimpse of her eyes. Her eyes were an impossible gray. They were deep, but light and bubbly. It felt like, in that second, I was staring into the future and the possibility of a future over there with her was much better than the one I had sitting at the bar with Jason."





	1. Percy's Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which two people meet in a bar.

**Percy’s POV**

 “For the eight-hundredth time, man, just go talk to her. You’ve been staring at her all night,” Jason said. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“She could say no?” I shrugged. “There’s no point. She’s going to say no. Look at her!”

Jason looked at her, back at me, and back to her again. “Dude,” he breathed resigning his forehead to his hands. “You’re telling me that even if you had a one in a million shot at asking that girl out, you’d rather sit here and talk to me? Jesus Christ, just go talk to her!”

I sighed. He had a point. I had been staring at her. It was hard not to; bright blonde hair tied back but still falling down past her shoulders in a yellow waterfall and a smile that could light up the darkest pits of hell. I heard her laugh a few times and I knew I’d be hearing it in my dreams for the rest of my life. And one time our eyes met, and it was brief - although it felt like forever -  before I looked away I caught a glimpse of her eyes. Her eyes were an impossible gray. They were deep, but light and bubbly. It felt like, in that second, I was staring into the future and the possibility of a future over there with her was much better than the one I had sitting at the bar with Jason.

I nodded and spun around in my chair to face her. He handed me my drink and I downed the rest of it. She was way too out of my league and I knew I was going to need it. Jason clapped me on the shoulder as I stood up. I gave him a smile and when I looked back at her, her friends were getting up to go dance. _Yes!_ , I thought. _Maybe that’ll be easier, dancing with her instead of trying to talk- but wait she’s-_ my thoughts ended there. She was standing up and taking off the oversized sweater she had on to reveal a tight t-shirt. It was dark blue, my favorite. And I had never seen it worn so well. My breathing turned ragged. All I could think about was taking that damn blue shirt off of her because how dare she look that good in just a t-shirt - _no. No. I won’t think about that right now. She deserves my best._

She sat back down. She wasn’t going to dance with her friends. One friend noticed and came back to try and pull her, but she waved her off. Her friend left and she watched. She had an elbow on the table, chin resting on that hand. Her other hand pushed a stray curl behind her ear. She glanced around the room, before turning to her bag and pulling a large book out of it. It was a textbook. She was at a club with her friends on a Friday night and she was reading a textbook about….Ancient Greek architecture? _This woman is too much for me._ I sat back down and sighed, startling Jason.

“What are you doing?” He said.

“I can’t do it,” I replied sadly. “She’s much too good for me. I mean just look at her, Jace.” He did and then at me and he laughed.

“What?”

Jason stood up, grabbed me by the arm and stood me up too. He pushed me forward, towards her.

“Go. Talk. To. Her.” He said before turning back around to ignore me.

Guess I can’t say no to that.

I walked over there. In reality, it was probably like, 30 feet, but to me, it felt like 30 miles. My heart was pounding in my chest, I could feel it now. A million pick-up lines flew through my head but by the time I was standing at her table, I couldn’t think of one. I was blanking. So instead, I slid into the booth so I was just a couple feet from her. _Too far._ And I leaned towards her and said “hi”.

She jumped. She hadn’t noticed me. She said something in a language I didn’t understand, before saying the first words she’d ever say to me: “Gods, you scared me.”

“I - um. I - ” My brain refused to form words. Her voice was angelic. It wasn’t as high as I imagined but it wasn’t quite low either. It was mid-range, like teetering on the edge of delving into a delicious husky voice.

“Well, that was articulate.”

“Sorry,” I managed to get out. “I’m sorry for scaring you, I thought you heard me sit down and maybe you were just ignoring me which, I wouldn’t blame you because, I mean, well, shit, look at you and then look at me you’re definitely out of my league, but I just had to come and talk to you and god knows Jason wouldn’t let me leave this place without at least giving it a shot so here I am, I guess, giving it a shot?” I slammed my hand onto my forehead. I couldn’t think of anything and then I babble on and tell her that she’s out of my league. I looked up at her. She looked... _pissed? Creeped out?_ Amused. She was smiling at me and stifling a laugh. Thank god.

“Sorry,” I said again. “It’s- well, it’s been a while.”

“That’s okay, it’s been a while since anyone came over to hit on me.”

I couldn’t help it. “Seriously? How? Is everyone else blind? You’re beautiful!”

She laughed and looked away. Was she..blushing?

“I’m Percy,” I said, extending my hand.

She took it, sending a lightning bolt up into my arm straight to my head. I had one thought. I need to have this woman in my life.

“Annabeth,” She replied, shaking my hand.

My mouth fell open a little. “Annabeth,” I repeated, feeling her name in my mouth like a rich chocolate dissolving on my tongue. I smiled, _“crooked. Like you’re up to something”_ a certain voice reminded me. I told the voice to shut up, that I wasn’t thinking about that now.

“What?” Annabeth said, recalling me to reality.

“Nothing it’s just - it suits you,” I told her.

“It suits me? You don’t know me.”

“No, but I’d like to,” I said smoothly with the most charming smile I could manage.

I caught her off guard. She smiled, chuckled, and turned away from me. When she looked back at me, something in her soft gray eyes had changed. They had hardened. She wasn’t smiling anymore.

“I’m sorry, Percy. You seem really sweet, but I’m seeing someone.”

I couldn’t say anything in return. My world shattered into dust. She was seeing someone. _Of course, she’s seeing someone! Look at her!_

But she had said my name. I had never heard my name said like that. Softly - she was trying to reject me gently - but so sure.

I nodded. “Oh, I’m sorry. Well,” I grabbed the pencil she had next to her book and wrote my number down on a napkin before passing it to her. “If you ever want to talk - about anything - feel free to send me a text.” As I stood up, I tried not to look as depressed as I felt. I flashed her the best smile I could manage. _“Your eyes look so sad. You can’t give a real smile if your eyes look sad.”_ Said that voice again. I willed the voice away again. “It was really great meeting you, Annabeth.”

“And you, Percy.” _Did she sound sad as well?_

I turned and walked back to the bar. I sat down next to Jason before collapsing my head into my arms. Jason ordered me another drink. I drank it too fast, but I didn’t really care. Some woman came up to Jason and started to flirt with him. I don’t think he realized it, but he was flirting back. I heard him mumble something about helping me, and he had to take me home.

“No, nonononononono, Jason, dude, I’ll just catch an Uber or something, it’s all good man,” I told him, trying to sound like I was okay. He shot me a look. I leaned in close to him and said “dude, hot girl just asked you to go dance with her, go. I’ll be fine.”

Jason nodded and turned back to the woman. “Looks like I’m all yours, Piper.”

Piper squealed and grabbed his hand pulling him towards the dance floor. I ordered another drink and downed it before pulling out my phone to order a ride. I looked at the time, it was only one in the morning. _“You really are an old man in a hot young man’s body.”_ The voice giggled at me. _Please not now. “Why not? You used to like talking to me.” I know, I just can’t do this right now. I’m sorry._

My Uber got there. Getting into the car, out of the car and into the apartment was a blur. I sat down on the couch before the room turned upside down and I passed out.


	2. Annabeth's 'Someone'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annabeth talks with her "someone".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This character is not a fun character. You have been warned.

**Annabeth’s POV**

“How was the club last night?” He asked me. 

“Not bad, everyone danced. Piper found some kind of arm candy to dance with. And brought him home. It seems that ‘Jason’ is one of the more competent partners she’s brought home.” I told him, dancing around the part where a guy had come up to me and flirted with me and gave me his number.  _ Percy _ , I thought again. I pushed the thought away. 

“Oh, man. When did that start?”

“They got here before I did. I dropped the others off - ”

“Others, what others?” He demanded. “You said you were going out with Piper.”

“I did but then Hazel, Frank, and Nico were there too. I didn’t know they were going to be there, I swear.”

“Okay,” he said, but he sounded uneasy.

“Luke, we’ve talked about this Frank only has eyes for Hazel and Nico’s gay.” 

“I know, Annabeth!” He exploded. He was quiet for a moment before continuing. “Ethan was bartending last night.”

I felt a lump in my throat. “Oh? I didn’t notice. We were at a booth.”

“Annabeth, you know what you’re not telling me. And you know what happens when you don’t tell me everything.” His voice was low and quiet. 

“Luke, he came up to me! I was just being polite - ”

“You were enjoying it, Annabeth! You should’ve done what we talked about. We talked about this!”

“I know, Luke - ”

“We talked about this! If someone comes up to you, you are supposed to shut him down before a single word leaves his mouth.”

I couldn’t say anything anymore. I was just crying. 

“Well, Annabeth?”

“Well what, Luke?”

“Are you sorry? Are you sorry for what you’ve done?”

“I didn’t - ”

“Are you sorry?!” Luke screamed over the phone. 

I hesitated. “Yes. I- I’m sorry, Luke. I messed up. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not.” And with that, he hung up. 

I let out a sob. But suddenly my bedroom door opened. A half-naked man started to come in, wiping the sleep from his eyes. I shouted, startling him.

“Oh, oh my god. I’m so sorry, I was looking for the bathroom. I’m so sorry.”

“You must be Jason.”

He stared at me. I couldn’t quite place his expression; he was blushing but looked confused, and a little bit hurt? “Yeah. I’m so sorry. Piper didn’t mention a roommate.” He thought for a second. “Or maybe she did, there wasn’t a lot of talking last night and I wasn’t really...sober.”

“Got that,” I said. “Um, anyway, bathroom’s the next door down.”

“Right, right. Sorry about that.” He closed the door and left, but his footsteps headed back towards Piper’s room before turning and going for the bathroom. 

After a minute, there was a knock on my door. Piper opened the door and peeked in. She took one look at me and left again. I could hear her rushing Jason out of the apartment, apologizing and saying to text her tomorrow before she came back to my room. She shut the door behind her and in a flash was on my bed, holding me and stroking my hair. Words came tumbling out. About how Luke wasn’t always like this, how sweet he used to be, how he’s just overprotective. Piper stopped me. 

“Annabeth. Luke is not overprotective. Luke is controlling and manipulative. I don’t think I’d really be your friend if I told you anything else.”

“Piper - ”

“I know, you’re just going to make up excuses for him again - ”

“No,” I said. Stopping her dead in her tracks. “I, uh, I kinda met someone last night.”

Piper’s jaw dropped. “You what?”

“This guy, he came over from the bar and he started talking to me. He was really sweet, he said I was beautiful. He told me I was out of his league, but he was really selling himself short.”

“Oh. My. God. Annabeth, tell me everything! Was he hot??”

“Piper!”

“What did he look like? I need details, woman!”

I sighed. “He was tall and muscular, but not too much, I think he’s an athlete, and he had really, really, dark hair, like it was black. But his eyes were - ” I stopped. I thought back to the night before. His eyes were green. Or maybe blue? Somewhere in between. They had been so bright when he came over, but so dark when he left. Like, the ocean during a storm.

“Hello? Earth to Annabeth? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“You need to get away from him.”

“What?”

“Luke. I try not to meddle in other people’s relationships, but Annabeth, seriously. You need to get out.” 

I didn’t say anything. 

“Annabeth?”

“I know.”


	3. Percy's New Goal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy talks to an old friend.

**Percy’s POV**

_“Oh, Percy.”_ The voice was the first thing I heard when I came to. _“You never could hold your hard liquors, Percy.”_

“I know. I know, I should just stick to beer.” I told the voice, aloud.

_“Why would you drink whiskey? You hate whiskey.”_

“I know, but I needed to. You wouldn’t leave me alone.”

_“I’d never leave you alone. I swore that to you.”_

“Yeah, but you did. You left me. Alone.” I felt the tears that had been filling my eyes had begun to spill over.

_“I didn’t mean to. You know that, Percy. And besides, you’re not alone. You’ve got Jason. And maybe that girl will text you.”_

That girl? _That girl_ . Blonde, gray eyes, _Annabeth_. I shook my head.

“No, no, she told me, she’s not interested. She’s seeing someone.”

_“Then why did she look so sad?”_

I heard the apartment door open and Jason, who seemed to be floating a foot off the floor, came in and plodded down next to me.

“How’s it going, man?”

“Not great. Where did you end up last night?”

“Piper’s,” he said dreamily.

“Seriously? Nice, man.” I told him, trying not to sound upset.

Jason looked at me for the first time since walking in. “Yeah. Percy’s what wrong?”

“You know what’s wrong.”

“Still? Percy, it’s been 3 years.”

“I was with her for 6. I just can’t shake her. I hear her voice all the time. She’s always talking to me. Just like she used to.”

“Percy, look at me,” he said and when I did, he continued. “Rachel’s gone. She died three years ago in the plane crash coming back from Italy. She’s gone, Percy.”

“Jason - ”

“I know. It sucks to hear it, but that’s what Dr. Brunner said to tell you when you got like this. He’s your therapist, Man, I’m just trying to help. I’m sorry.”

I stared at the old chair in the corner. She loved that chair, whenever she’d come over she’d plop down into it and say she felt like she was at home. I could see her sitting there now. Her crazy red curls pulled back with a ribbon, she was smiling at me. I blinked and she was gone.

I sighed. I knew she was gone.  I couldn’t help but think back to the day she left.

 

* * *

 

_“Percy, come on! It’s just a month.”_

_“Yeah, it’s a month I have to spend without you and I am not in favor of that.”_

_“You’ve got districts this week and regionals a week from then - and don’t say you won’t make it Percy Jackson, you’re like the fifth best swimmer in the US and you’re going to make it to the regional swim meet - and then you’ll be training for states. You won’t even notice that I’m gone.”_

_“I don’t believe that.”_

_“Percy, you know if it wasn’t important, I’d stay.”_

_“I know, I know.”_

_“It’s the chance of a lifetime! They are digging up a site of Pompeii that we had only speculated about in the past, and they are letting me be among the first to report it. It’s just four weeks. Four weeks and I’ll be back in your arms again.”_

_“I know. I just have to ask you something when you come back is all.”_

_“When I come back? Why when I come back? You could ask me now.”_

_…_

_“Percy, you’re kidding.”_

_“I’m not. I couldn’t kid about this. Rachel Elizabeth Dare, you swept me off my feet. From the day I met you - ”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Rach, I didn’t even - ”_

_“I know, I’m sorry, but yes.”_

_“Can I finish?”_

_“No.”_

 

* * *

 

“Percy?”

“What?” I said, realizing that I had zoned out for a while.

“I was just saying that I think it’d be good for you.” Jason repeated, apparently, looking concerned.

“I’m sorry, what would be good for me?” I shook my head. Trying to get that red hair out of my head.

Jason sighed. “I think you should get back out there. Try to move on.”

“I know. And I will,” Jason started to object, but I shushed him. “I know I’ve been saying that but I will.”

“Percy - ”

I got up, walking towards my bedroom. “Besides, I’ve got a new goal.”

“Percy…”

“And her name is Annabeth.”


	4. Annabeth's Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth makes a decision and someone shows up at her apartment door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Content Warning Contains Spoilers for this Chapter*****
> 
> Skip to the end notes for the CW!!!

**Annabeth’s POV**

The next two nights were...noisy. Piper brought Jason over again after their date Saturday night, and he stayed almost all of Sunday. He left for a little while around lunchtime and he came back soaking wet and a little angry. 

“What the hell happened to you?” Piper asked him, rushing to grab him a towel from the bathroom. 

“My roommate. I love him, but sometimes I just want to kill him.”

Piper ushered him into the bathroom, she came back out with an armful of soaked clothing, which she shoved in the dryer, making the whole apartment smell like chlorine. Jason came out with a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else. 

He awkwardly sat down next to me, the tops of his ears a bright pink. He studied the floor in front of him intensely.

Piper was still fussing with the mess that Jason made when he came in and trying to figure out the best method of drying Jason’s shoes. So, I decided to try and make conversation. 

“So, your roommate’s kind of a dick, huh?” I asked, trying to break the tension. 

“No, I mean not usually. I just - I guess I hit a nerve. He’s not usually like this, but I guess I hit that sore spot a little too hard.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, a few years ago he lost his girlfriend. Sorry, fiancée. I always forget that he asked her just before she left. She was a journalist. She was invited to be one of the first to write about this big archeology dig in Italy. She couldn’t say no, and she was going. It was a month long and everything went fine. Until she was coming back. Did you hear about the plane that went down over the Atlantic Ocean about 3 years ago and no one knows the cause?” I nodded. “Rachel was on that plane. There were no survivors. Half of the bodies were so burnt they couldn’t identify them. The ones they could though, they took pictures of. Plastered them all over the news stations. That’s how he found out. I mean, Rachel’s family was called, but they never approved of Percy, so they didn’t bother. He had to hear that his fiancée had died in a plane crash from a tv.”

I had tears streaming down my face and when I looked up, Piper and Jason did as well. We were all silent for a minute before Piper asked: “but why were you soaked?”

Jason sighed. “My roommate is a little troubled. He sees a therapist, but he’s been struggling with acceptance. He says he hears her voice all the time, like she talks to him. Well, I wanted to help and he brought me to a therapy session with him and his therapist gave me something to say to him every once in a while to try and help him accept what happened. He was swimming - he used to swim for Yancy U - and I was checking on him and apparently it really upset him; he yelled and pushed me in.” Jason rubbed his neck, looking remorseful. 

Piper came over and pulled him up from the couch and took him back to her room, still crying, but shushing him and rubbing his back, leaving me all by myself. 

 

* * *

 

Piper proceeded to comfort Jason - in a different way, and  _ all night _ \- but then, looking worn out and messy, went and got Jason’s clothes that finished drying hours ago. My door was ajar and she stopped when she saw me sitting on my bed with my phone in my hand, just staring, not moving. I’m wasn’t sure how long I had been sitting like that.

“’Beth?” She called. She is the only one I tolerate calling me that nickname.

“I’m doing it, Piper. I’m going to do it. If I do it over text, he won’t get angry and stop me, right?”

“Oh, Annabeth.” She walked away quickly, dropping Jason’s clothes in her room, and coming back to sit next to me. She sat, silently rubbing small circles on my back or pulling my hair out of my face as I typed out a very long message to Luke, which boiled down to “it's over”. 

She held my hand as I hit send. I told her I was going to try and get some sleep and she nodded, hugged me, and left. 

I fell asleep fast, not wanting to be subjected to his answer immediately. 

 

* * *

 

 

I jumped awake. There was a pounding on the door. And shouting. It was Luke. I looked at my alarm clock. It was 6:30 am. 

I put on a hoodie and started to leave my room and almost ran straight into Jason, who was in a t-shirt and his boxers. 

He gestured silently towards the door, and I nodded sadly. He went in front of me before I could stop him and opened the door. 

Luke, who was in the middle of shouting my name again, was alarmed. “Who the fuck are you?” He screamed. 

Jason calmly asked him to quiet down but Luke saw me behind him, shoved Jason to the ground and stormed into the apartment until he was practically standing on top of me screaming down at me. 

“Who the fuck is that, Annabeth?! Are you  _ cheating  _ on me?” It was then that I noticed that Luke was really messed up. He had scratches on his back, I could see them through his white t-shirt. Covering his neck were hickeys, slightly hidden under smudged lipstick. I just stared. He continued, regardless. “After everything I do for you? I love you, Annabeth, how could you,  _ you fucking bitch _ ?!”

Before I could say or do anything, Jason spun Luke around, easily decking him across the face, rendering Luke unconscious. He crumpled to the floor. I hadn’t realized that I had backed myself into a corner of the apartment. Jason stood there, scowling and shaking his hand out. He looked at me, his eyes crackling with anger and pain, the normal electric blue lit up by his fury. Quickly, the anger was somewhat displaced by concern. 

“Are you okay?” I didn’t know how to respond. I felt frozen, trapped inside my own body, unable to move or speak. I was terrified for when he would get back up. It felt like I could hear and see everything that was happening around me but none of it felt real. I didn’t notice Piper walk in, but she had and she was holding my shoulders asking if I was okay. Jason walked over, trying not to get too close to me, and pulled Piper over. He talked quietly, so I could only hear bits and pieces. 

“Piper, listen to me. When he comes to, it is not going to be pretty ... sister dated this creep … had her trapped ... couldn’t get out ... make sure he never comes here … my apartment … Percy ... meeting today...”

“...you’re not going to - ”

“He’ll live...”

Piper noticed Luke’s appearance when she came back over to me. She gave him a good kick in the balls as she wrapped her arms around me, rushing me out to the street. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Verbal abuse, attempted assault, abusive male, abusive ex, rendering someone unconscious, cheating


	5. Percy's Threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy gets reeeaaally angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *****Content Warning Contains Spoilers for this Chapter*****
> 
> Skip to the end notes for the CW!!!

**Percy’s POV**

“I’m late, I’m late, I’m so goddamn late,” I said to myself as I rushed past Rachel, in her chair. I stopped to look at her. “Really? Now?”

_ “Now.” _

“Why now? I’m already running late and if you sit here looking at me like that, I won’t go at all.”

_ “I know. I’m sorry if I’m inconvenient. But you know that I’m not here. You know that I’m gone. You brought me here, Percy.” _

I wanted to look away, but I didn’t. I knew that if I looked away she might not be there when I looked back. “I know.”

_ “I’m gone, Percy. Tell me you know that.” _

“Rach - ”

_ “Percy. Please. Tell me.” _

I sighed. “You, Rachel Elizabeth Dare are gone. You left and you never came back. And you’re not going to come back. Because you died.”

_ “Like you mean it, Percy. Let me go.” _

“I don’t want - ” I mumbled. Shutting my eyes tight to keep from crying.

_ “Let me go, Percy!” _

“I don’t want to let you go!” I opened my eyes again and she was gone. I had shouted. I heard Jason opening the door.  _ This is exactly what I don’t need right now. _ I rushed over so he wouldn’t have to bother with keys during his walk of shame.

I opened the door and suddenly became very aware of the fact that I was in my undershirt and boxers. Annabeth and her friend were standing at my door. 

“You must be Percy,” said her friend. “I’m Piper, I’m the girl Jason has been seeing. He told us to come here.” She had her arm around Annabeth who looked like she wasn’t standing in front of me, like she was somewhere else. She kept glancing over her shoulder and looking around.  _ Like she’s looking for someone _ . A slow understanding of why Jason sent them here started to occur to me. I ushered them in and locked the door behind them. When I turned around Piper was basically holding Annabeth upright. She had basically passed out.  _ From what? _ I wondered, briefly, before seeing the “Help me!” look on Piper’s face as she struggled to keep Annabeth from hitting the floor. I took Annabeth in my arms and carried her to my room, laying her gently on the bed. She reminded me of Sleeping Beauty; she looked peaceful now - even though she’d obviously experienced something traumatic - her princess curls laid out around her. 

Once Piper was sure that Annabeth was comfortable, she came back out to the living room and recounted what had happened. As she told me everything, I kept flip-flopping between wanting to go hold her and cry for her and wanting to kill that unworthy piece of shit, Luke. But then Piper told me what Jason said. My eyes went wide, seeing red, and I asked her for her apartment address.   


 

* * *

When I got to Annabeth and Piper’s apartment, the door was locked. I could hear shouting inside. I knocked as hard as I could. The shouting stopped. Jason came to the door.

“Percy? What are you doing here?” he said. He was out of breath.

“Piper told me everything,” I pushed past him. The sight before me was not particularly PG-13. Luke was tied to a chair, barely conscious, and bloody in the face. I turned to Jason and hoped he didn’t register the fear in my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Percy. I couldn’t help it. Not after what he did to Thalia.” 

I nodded. I did understand. It still scared me a little. Jason was always angry when we were younger. Before he died, Jason’s dad told him that his big dream for Jason was to become a fighter. So that’s how his mom raised him. Jason hated fighting, but he didn’t want to disappoint his parents and as a result, Jason was angry all the time.  Unfortunately, he found that he fought best when he was angry and, at times, the victories were enough to subdue his anger. One day, in college, he met a girl. Her name was Reyna. She was a fighter, too. She was the first one to take him down when he had a nearly undefeated season. They hit it off, but it wasn’t healthy. Their relationship was fueled by fighting (literally) and rage. When it ended, it ended badly. A blowout fight, the neighbors called the police but they weren’t sure who would kill whom. It ended with Jason alone and Reyna leaving a hole in the drywall. Jason quit fighting, he quit anything that reminded him of her. He went through therapy for anger management. Seeing him like this after so long was scary. It had been years since he got this angry. I looked him in the eyes. They were as cold as ice, filled with anger.  _ And pain _ .

Just then, Luke started to stir. He moaned in pain. He stared up at me, blinking to try and see me clearly. 

“ _ You _ ?” he said. “You’re that asshat. The one Annabeth was flirting with. At the bar the other night. You gave her your number.”

“How do you know that?” I spit at him.

“That bartender, he’s my friend. He tells me everything Annabeth does when she’s out. I guess he didn’t listen to me when I told him to put something special in your drinks.”

“What the fuck did you just say?” All I could think of was Annabeth.  _ How could someone as smart and perfect and beautiful be with this asshole? _

“You listen to me, you fucking shitbag, Annabeth belongs to me and I - ”

My vision went red and I relinquished control of my body to my anger as my hand balled up the front of his shirt, lifting him and the chair a few inches off the ground.

“Annabeth does  _ not _ belong to you, asshole. She never did and she never will. She is her own person. She belongs to herself!” I dropped him and pushed him over. I put my foot on his chest and started to press. He cried out, but I ignored him. “Say it!” I demanded.

Before he could say anything, I heard someone behind me.

“ _ Percy _ ?”

I whipped around to see Annabeth, looking completely shocked and terrified, with Piper just catching up behind her. Annabeth started to come towards me - no, not me,  _ Luke _ \- but Piper and Jason held her away. I took my foot off of Luke’s chest. He had hit his head. He was still breathing, but he was unconscious.

“Luke?” Annabeth shouted. “ _ Luke! _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Verbal threatening, physical threatening, assault, abusive ex, rage


	6. Annabeth's Banishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth regains control of herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's a short one.

**Annabeth’s POV**

“ _ Luke! _ ” The scream escaped my lips without my permission. Jason kept placing himself in my line of sight while Piper did everything she could to hold me back. When I saw Jason’s bloodied fist everything that had happened came flooding back to me. I stopped trying to go to him. I realized something I hadn’t before;  _ Luke was about to hit me. He had raised his arm to  _ hit me _. That’s how Jason grabbed him. _ I released an ugly sob and fell to the floor. Piper’s arms encircled me, Jason moved away. I looked up, Jason was holding Percy back. He kept saying something. “Not now, man” and “not right now, Percy.”

I cried into Piper’s shoulder while she stroked my hair. I don’t know how long we stayed like that.

“Annabeth? Is that you? Annabeth!” Luke shouted when he came to.

My body started to move on its own, like I wasn’t in control. I stood up. Piper tried to keep me from going but I went anyway until I was standing right over Luke.

“Luke,” I said as calmly as I could, though my voice was still shaking.

“Annabeth, help me, please. Let me out of all this, help me!”

My eyes started to fill with tears. “No, Luke,” I told him, the tears flowing down my face now.

“Now, Annabeth, you listen to me-”

“No, Luke.  _ You _ listen to  _ me _ !” I snapped. That got his attention. “You are  _ done _ belittling me. You are  _ done _ controlling me. I want you  _ gone.  _ Gone _ forever _ . I will never take you back so don’t even try.” His mouth fell open. He was outraged. I  _ thought _ he was outraged.

“Annabeth, I’m sorry.”

It caught me by surprise. “ _ What? _ ”

“I’m sorry, Annabeth. I never should have tried to control you. I was manipulative, I was controlling. I’m so sorry, please. I love you.”

“No. No, you don’t. This- this isn’t love. This was  _ never _ love. You didn’t even  _ want _ love either, you wanted power. But you’ll never have power over me again. Now, listen. Piper is going to let you go. If you come towards me, or any of my friends, I will call the police. If you start to turn around, I will call the police. I am giving you the opportunity to leave without being charged with harassment. Leave with whatever dignity you might have left. Go.”

Piper untied him from the chair.  _ Who put him there, Jason or Percy? Actually, you know what, I don’t care. _ Luke got up, obviously hurt. Something called out to me to protect him; I told that something to fuck off. He looked at each of the others in the room before looking at me. “You’re an ugly, stupid fucking bitch anyway,” he informed me. He limped out the door, which closed with a thud. A couple seconds later, I released a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Along with it came the tears. Piper began leading me to her room.

“Clean up, then go home. You two made this mess, you’ll clean it up,” she spat. I heard a “but” out of Percy, but Jason said “No, Percy. She’s right.”

Piper changed me into a soft set of pajamas, grabbed some movies and ice cream and stayed with me until I fell asleep.


	7. Percy's Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy escapes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains explicit (almost ;-) ) sex.

**Percy’s POV**

I hadn’t seen Annabeth since that Monday morning. Jason hadn’t been to their apartment since we left that day. His hand was still healing.

“Hey, let’s go out tonight,” he suggested.

“Jace-”

“I know, I know. It’s been two weeks. It’s a Friday night. Leo said he’s buying.”

“No, no, I’m alright. I’m just not feeling it,” I told him. _And besides, she’s louder when I drink._

“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “But you’ll let me know if you need anything, right?”

“Yes, mom, I swear I will.”

Jason rolled his eyes and pat my shoulder before heading out the door. I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until I found some random show. It lulled me to sleep. I dreamed again, and it wasn’t something I hadn’t dreamed before in the past week. It had become familiar now.

 

* * *

 

_I was walking out of the apartment when I full on ran into someone. I wasn’t looking where I was going and I nearly knocked them over. I grabbed their waist to keep them upright until I was suddenly staring into piercing storm sky gray eyes._

_“Annabeth,” I said stupidly, not knowing what else to say. “What are you doing here?”_

_“Well, I was coming to see you,” she half-whispered, looking down. “Are you busy?” She looked back up at me and her eyes had changed. They were softer than they were before and there was something else about them. They were...seductive?_

_“No, I’m-” before I could finish that sentence, Annabeth’s lips crashed into mine, as she pressed me against my apartment door. I was barely having any coherent thoughts, but I managed to open the door behind me, stumbling into the apartment, but keeping my lips on hers. I lifted her up and her legs wrapped around my waist, I pressed her into the wall, my hips moving on their own, grinding into hers. A moan escaped her mouth against my lips. I moved from her lips to her neck, planting kisses and light bites all along it. I carried her to my room, running into furniture and the door frame. I dropped her onto the bed and quickly got undressed and watched as she did the same and my god, it was a sight to behold. I climbed over top of her and kissed down her neck, over her breasts, and down her stomach. I pushed her legs apart and leaned in to start-_

 

* * *

 

“Percy!” a voice startled me awake. I shook my head, trying to get that blonde out of my mind when I saw Piper standing over me. She was wearing one of Jason’s t-shirts, which hung loosely on her petite frame, and she wasn’t wearing any pants. She had just come out of Jason’s room. I quickly realized my hard-on, and moved to attempt to conserve some of my privacy, but I didn’t have to. A blanket had been thrown over me. _Thank god_ . I felt a little embarrassed that I had just had a sex dream about Annabeth and there was her roommate standing over me. _“Wow, lucky Jason, she’s pretty hot, too”_ said the wrong head.

“Uh, hi, Piper,” I said.

“Sorry, I, um. I realize you were, well, _dreaming_. But I came out to get a drink and saw you here and I was worried you were going to ache in the morning or something. I’ll just...um, I’ll just go now.” She ducked back into Jason’s room. I felt my face turn bright red as I processed her words. I quickly went into my room with my new problem.

_“Hey there, big guy.”_

I stood there, staring at the redhead laying on my bed before me. “Rach-”

_“It’s been a while.”_

_Has it_? The realization hit me; I hadn’t seen her since that day Annabeth and Piper showed up at my door. I hadn’t even heard her.

_“And here I thought maybe you were finally letting me go._ ”

“Yeah, I thought maybe I was, too.”

_“Oh, Percy. I’m so sorry.”_

“No, please, Rachel. I should be apologizing to you.”

_“Percy, you don’t-”_

“There’s this other girl. I met her at a bar a couple weeks ago. I just had a dream about her-”

_“Percy-”_

“And it’s not right, Rachel. I was going to promise my life to _you_.”

_“I know. But Percy, I’m not here. I’m gone. I died in that plane crash. Listen to me. I’ve moved on to somewhere that’s better than this earth. I loved you dearly while I was alive, but I’m dead now.”_

“Rachel, I love you. Please come back to me.”

_“Percy, you know I can’t do that. I’m only here for one reason now.”_

“What?”

_“I’m here to tell you that you can move on. It’s okay. You wouldn’t be betraying me, you wouldn’t be hurting me. It’s what I want. Annabeth seems wonderful. She’ll need time to heal, but I think you’re perfect for each other.”_

“But-”

_“Don’t argue with me Percy Jackson.”_

And with that, she was gone again. I wasn’t convinced that she hadn’t really appeared to me like a ghost as I got in the bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.  
  
—————

 

I woke up the next morning to sounds that I did _not_ need or want to hear coming from Jason’s room. I was annoyed, but I guess I felt happy for Jason. Piper seemed really nice, and she and Jason were great together. That and judging by the noises that emulated from his room _across the apartment_ , it seems the sex wasn’t half bad either. I knew that if I left my room, it’d be louder, The kitchen was creating a buffer between our rooms, thank god. So, instead I picked up my phone to browse through whatever social media, but something distracted me. It was a text from a number I didn’t have saved in my phone. My jaw dropped when I read it. I saved the number, then quickly responded.   
  
  
632-555-0159   (8:44 AM)   
Hi Percy, I’m sorry if this is a really early text.This is Annabeth. I don’t know if you want to talk to me after everything that happened before, but I’d really like to talk to you. I guess text me back if you’re not too busy?   
  


You   (10:23 AM)

Oh, I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong number.

  


Annabeth  (10:25 AM)

Omg, I’m so sorry. Thanks for letting me know.

  


You   (10:26 AM)

Wait, don’t go. Bad joke. I’m sorry. This is the right number. I’m just an idiot.

  


Annabeth   (10:32 AM)

You got me there. I had some trouble making out your number. It was kind of smudged.

  


You   (10:33 AM)

Ah, I see. So, what’s up?

  


Annabeth   (10:33 AM)

Not much, just reading a little. How about you?

  


You   (10:34 AM)  
I was going to get up and make some breakfast, but I have a dilemma.

  


Annabeth   (10:34 AM)

Oh? What sort of dilemma?

  


You   (10:35 AM)

The kind that involves both of our roommates making all sorts of ungodly noises and the fact that it would be worse if I left my room.

  


Annabeth   (10:36 AM)

I was wondering why is was just so quiet and peaceful here…

  


You   (10:36 AM)

Don’t mock my misery, I’m hungry :(

  


Annabeth   (10:37 AM)

I guess that maybe I can lighten up on the mockery. Especially after what you’ve done for me.

  


I put my phone down. _What I’ve done for her?_ I barely did anything. All I did was threaten the guy a little. And maybe give him a mild concussion. She’s the one who told him off and made him leave. I realized that the noises had stopped. I wondered if it was safe to wander out of my room. I started to open my room door to leave but when I looked out, there was a very naked Jason with a very naked Piper wrapped around him. I pulled my door closed. _Holy shit._

“Jason? I think I heard Percy,” Piper said. _It’s nice to know that someone in this apartment has concern for my sanity._

“Percy doesn’t normally get up before noon on Saturdays. We’ve got a couple more hours,” he appealed. _God, I really hope I never have to heard Jason using that tone ever again._

I picked my phone back up just as all the noise started happening again.

  


You   (10:45 AM)

Annabeth, I know why Jesus changed his middle name to fucking now. Can I meet you somewhere?

 

You   (10:45 AM)

Please. Please. Please.

  


Annabeth   (10:50 AM)

Yeah, you can come over here.

 

Annabeth   (10:51 AM)

Address is 818 Lakeview Rd. Apartment A09.

  


That was all she needed to say. I was at her apartment door in 15 minutes. When she answered the door, she was wearing a pair of black leggings and that damn blue t-shirt. I felt my pants get tighter. _Not now!_ , I thought.

She brought me in and everything looked different. In the last two weeks since I’d been here, it looked like she changed everything. All of the furniture was different and rearranged.

She walked over and sat down on the couch. “I know, it’s pretty different from the last time you were here.” It was like she read my mind. _I hope she’s not actually reading my mind, because I’m not going to be able to get those leggings out of it._ What happened next meant that she either really was a mind reader, or maybe I was making some kind of face, because she turned away and blushed, just like she did at the bar the night we met. _I hope you’re reading my thoughts because I think you’re beautiful and I want to tell you, but I don’t want to push you. You’re so beautiful, Annabeth._


	8. Annabeth's head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a much-needed conversation takes place.

**Annabeth’s POV**

When I opened the door Percy was standing there. It was at least a 25 minute walk from his apartment to mine but he was here in 15. I wondered if maybe he caught a ride or maybe biked? He wasn’t sweaty, and it probably would have been much faster if he’d caught a ride.  _ This guy is a mystery _ . His face changed to something I didn’t quite recognize and his cheeks flushed a little. I didn’t understand until I looked him up and down and noticed a certain bulge in his pants. I quickly turned to bring him inside. He looked around, his eyebrows raised. I sat on the couch and invited him to sit down. “I know, it’s pretty different from the last time you were here,” I said. He looked at me, a little confused, but his face melted into something else. Something darker. I believe it could be referred to as “bedroom eyes”. I felt my face turn bright red and turned my face away.  _ Is this why he wanted to come over? He heard Jason and Piper this morning and wanted some for himself?  _ When I looked back the bedroom eyes were gone and replaced by a soft and gentle look. I made myself speak.

“Do you need anything? A drink maybe?” That snapped him out of his stare.

“Uh, yeah, water would be nice.” As I got up, he shook his head. I glanced over my shoulder and caught a small glimpse of his jaw dropping as he watched me walk away. My face flushed again, and I ducked into the kitchen.  _ Okay, think Annabeth. You’ve got a horny guy in your apartment. He’s single, he’s sweet, and he is very obviously into you _ . At the moment, thinking was hard because the more I thought about him the more heat pooled between my legs. He was wearing a t-shirt that was almost too small for him, and tight fitting khakis.  _ Did he find a chance to do his hair this morning, or does he style it that messy? Doesn’t matter. Did he come over here expecting it to be like a booty call? Did I invite him over here expecting it to be like a booty call? _

_ Oh gods, I have to get back out there. _ I grabbed a glass and filled it with water and walked back out, sure my face was still red. He had moved to stand by the window, admiring the view of another building directly next to ours. I smiled as I handed him the glass. He thanked me, took a big gulp, and set the glass down on the window sill. He was avoiding my eyes. I double checked to make sure of the reason, and yes, the bulge was still there. His face was red, too. I wished I was a mind-reader so I could figure out what made him blush like that.

“You never answered my text,” I blurted out.

He jumped a little. “Uh, yeah. Sorry.” He still wasn’t meeting my eyes.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“You helped me with-” I hesitated, “that whole situation before. You got rid of him. So, thank you.”

“Annabeth,” he said, meeting my eyes now. “All I did was threaten him a little.  _ You _ are the one that got rid of him.”

“Percy, I don’t-”

“I mean it, Annabeth. You did that yourself. I was just there.”

“That’s not what I meant. I guess I got rid of him  _ physically _ , but you got rid of him  _ mentally _ .” He looked at me, confused. I looked away, not wanting him to see how upset this would make me. “I was stuck in a loop. He would say something horrible, I’d work up the courage to leave him, but then I’d get scared because I was with him for a few years and I was scared to be alone again. And then he’d do something sweet and I’d forget all about leaving him.  _ You _ changed that. He made me believe that no one else would want me, or that he was the best I could get. But then you showed up. You were sweeter, gentler, funnier. You were more handsome, you listened to what I said. You didn’t seem to be after my body at all.”  _ Unlike now _ , I thought. “You helped me get him out of my head. Showed me maybe I  _ could _ do better, maybe someone else could-” I couldn’t finish my sentence because Percy grabbed my waist and pulled himself to me. Our eyes locked for a fleeting second and I noticed tears streaming down his face, and he was kissing me and I was kissing him back.

I thought for a second that the heat would grow, but it faded back ever so slightly to  make way for butterflies in my stomach and tingles that flooded through the rest of my body. A million things were racing through my mind and at the same time, nothing at all. But then he pulled away. My eyes fluttered open. Percy was still holding my waist but he had turned his face away from mine. The streaks from his tears still wet on his face. 

“Percy,” I started. “What-”

“It’s not right. This. It isn’t right.” He let go of my waist and took a couple steps back. I felt hurt. It felt right to me, how could he not feel the same?

“What do you mean?” I asked, trying not to let too much emotion into my voice.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he replied, wiping the newly forming tears from his eyes. “You just got out of a horrible relationship and you need time to heal and I don’t know if I’m…” He turned back towards the window. I could almost see a thousand thoughts flying around in his head as his expression changed. I couldn’t help myself. I took his hand, the contact surprising him, but he still didn’t look at me.

“Percy, are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” He mumbled. He went silent. His face never turned from the window, but his eyes darted around, as though he’d find the answer somewhere in the view of the city. He didn’t speak; what was probably a few minutes felt like an eternity. I noticed a tear or two fall down his face again. I wanted to wipe it away, to take care of him.

It was another few minutes before he really moved at all, but he cleared his throat a little before saying, just above a whisper “Are  _ you _ okay?” His voice was filled with concern.

“I don’t know either, but I think I will be,” I told him, and it was true. I honestly didn’t know if I was okay, but I had hope. Percy gave me hope. 

Percy nodded, finding his shoes apparently fascinating. He looked like a kid about to confess that he actually  _ did _ break mom’s vase.

“Percy?” my voice asked without permission.

“Yes?”

“What are you thinking?”  _ What am  _ I _ thinking? That’s not what I wanted to say! _

He took a deep breath in, closing his eyes. “When I look at you, I want to see you. I saw you when you were talking, and everything you were saying - I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself. But, when I pulled away from you, I saw her.” 

“You saw-”

“Rachel. I saw Rachel. My fiancée.”

“Percy, I-”

“She died. About three years ago. In a-”

“I know.”

He finally looked at me. “Y- you know?”

“Yes. Jason came here soaking wet, and he explained. Percy,” I felt my eyes fill up and spill over. There was nothing I could do to stop them. “Percy, I’m so, so sorry. If things are moving too fast for you, or you need more time, that’s okay. Even if you’re never ready, it’s okay, I promise.”

“Annabeth, you’re going to think I’m crazy.”

I paused. “Try me,” I told him.

“I saw Rachel last night. We talked.” He stopped, and waited for my response.

“I’m waiting for the crazy part,” I mentioned.

“We talked and, well I guess it was really just me talking to my memory of her, but I think I need to move on. It’s been three years. I loved Rachel, but she’s gone now. So, I don’t know why you’d be interested at all, Annabeth, but if you are, I’d really like to move on with you?” He met my eyes again. I let the sea green wash over me. His eyes were still sad, but they were hopeful too.


	9. Annabeth's Rebound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth begins to fulfill Percy's dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter almost contains explicit sex!!!

**Annabeth’s POV**

“Percy, that sounds wonderful,” I told him. “I’d love to.” His eyes melted and suddenly he wrapped me up in his arms and hugged me, tightly. After a few minutes, I thought he was letting go, but instead he was wrapping his arms around my waist again and he pressed his mouth into mine, harder than before. Briefly, I wondered if he was restraining himself before. I found my answer quickly, as he started to push against me, walking me backwards until my back found a wall. He pinned me to it and I felt myself nearly dripping. He pulled away and I almost whimpered.  _ Don’t stop! _ He pressed his forehead against mine, breathing slowly to catch his breath.

“Is this okay?” he asked, barely a whisper. I nodded rapidly for less than a second before he crashed back into me. He was kissing me roughly when I let a moan slip out of my mouth. His kissing paused. He moved his lips to just below my ear and whispered in a voice I hadn’t heard from him before. It was dark and low, dripping with want, and I knew he meant business. “Annabeth, I have been dreaming about this.” Before I could say anything, he was nipping at my neck, kissing, biting gently, pulling at the skin, and I was sighing and moaning. 

One hand was roaming up and down my hips and waist, the other steadily cupping my hip. The wandering hand found it’s way up, farther than it had been before and hesitated for a moment. I realized he was looking up at me, still kissing my neck, waiting for permission. My hands found their way to his face, pulling it back to mine. I grinned at him. “Do your worst, Percy.”

Apparently, that was enough to set off a different Percy, because this man was not the sweet and gentle one I met in the bar. He kept me pinned against the wall, I could barely keep track of where his hands were, they were moving so fast. My hips, my breasts, my neck, my thighs, my face. After a minute, he pulled me away from the wall and suddenly I was in the air, wrapping my legs around his waist. He pressed me back against the wall and I could feel him throbbing against me. He ground his hips into mine; a test. I moaned. He kept kissing my neck, driving me crazy. He moved back up to my mouth, his tongue dancing against mine as he grinded against me. I moaned again, and he released my mouth just in time for me to say “Please, Percy”. With that he carried me back to my room, setting me down on my bed, before turning to close and lock the door. I layed back on my elbows, taking in every inch of this man. I hadn’t noticed how defined his muscles were.  _ So  _ that’s _ why he could lift me up like I weighed nothing.   _

When he turned back around I saw that look again. Bedroom eyes, dark and boring into me, a devilish smirk. He walked slowly back to me, removing his shirt on the way. I felt my jaw drop and my face flush. I had known it before, but not like this. Percy was  _ hot _ . He looked like a sculpture. His abs and pecs were toned, but soft looking, and don’t get me started on the v-shape leading below his waist line. He must have noticed that that is where I was staring, because he slowly undid the button of his pants. Then, somehow slower, the zipper. I could see his underwear. They were a dark blue, but what was more important to me was the bulge in the front of them. He pulled down his pants to reveal his boxer briefs. They fit snugly against him, which really did me over. I must have been drooling because Percy asked “see something you like,” he paused, walking over to me, standing right over my legs. “Annabeth?” 

My vision turned red, I wasn’t in control of my body anymore. I saw myself pull his underwear down, hard. This took him by surprise. I stood up, right against him. He was off balance now. I backed him up to the door and kissed him, hard. His hands found the end of my shirt, paused, and then went for the top of my leggings instead. He pulled them down, and my panties shortly after. We moved together until the backs of my legs hit the bed. His hands found my shirt again, and he hesitated again before pulling it off over my head. My bra was gone quicker than I knew it could come off and he grabbed my waist, lowering me down onto the bed. He finally pulled away from kissing me and we took in the sight of each other’s naked bodies. 

I tried to pull him back down to me, wanting more, but he wouldn’t budge. “Percy?” I breathed.

“Sorry, sorry, just waiting to see if I’ll wake up,” he explained. “You know, my imagination  _ really _ didn’t do you justice.” 

He never stopped moving and eventually his hands found the warmest spot on my body. He ran his fingers over me and I moaned, loudly. He pulled his fingers up towards his face, and let out a small “wooow” admiring how wet his fingers were. Before I could do or say anything, his finger delved inside of me. My breath hitched. My eyes rolled back in my head. 

“Annabeth-” he started to ask. 

“Yes,” I interrupted.

He started off slowly, just one finger pulsing in and out of me. He added another and I started to moan. He kept pounding into me as he leaned so close to my ear I could feel his mouth moving against it as he found my clit with his thumb and said “I want to make you cum, Annabeth.”

It sent me over the edge. I had never felt something like the orgasm that rolled over my body. Percy pulled his hand away from me and I whimpered, but he made sure I watched as he slowly brought his fingers up to his mouth, licking away the wetness covering them. My eyes rolled back in my head and I shook as I came down from the high he gave me. I opened my eyes again to find him near my desk. I pushed myself up onto my elbows. 

“What are you doing?” I asked, still breathing heavy.

“Need a condom. I used to carry one in my wallet, but I didn’t really need it for a while there and I never put one back.”

“Oh, so you’re expecting this to go farther, then?” I snickered.

Percy rolled his eyes. “Do you have any?”

“No, I don’t, he would always bring them.”

We stared at each other, knowing that we shouldn’t go without one, but not wanting to stop. 

I racked my brain.  _ Maybe he’d left one somewhere? _ Wait,  _ Piper _ . Piper used to bring home a couple guys a month before she met Jason. In the few years I’ve lived with her, Jason is the only guy Piper’s brought home more than once.

I stood up and told him “wait here” before throwing on his t-shirt and heading out the door. I snuck down the hallway to Piper’s room. Once I was there, I didn’t even have a clue where she kept them. I tried her nightstand, nothing in the first drawer, and nothing in the other. But then I noticed something. A jewelry box that I didn’t remember being on her nightstand before. On a hunch, I opened it. Oh yeah, full of them. I grabbed one from the brand I knew and headed back out the door. As soon as I shut her door behind me I ran straight into someone.

Piper. And Jason was starting up the hallway behind her. My face flushed red as I made desperate eye contact with Piper. She opened her door and pushed me in, closing it behind her. 

“Annabeth Chase, what on-”

“Piper? You okay?” Jason knocked on the door.

“Yeah, Jace, just give me one second,” she called and waited for retreating footsteps. “Annabeth what are you doing...in here?” She realized mid-sentence that I was only wearing a man’s t-shirt and holding a condom. “Oh m-”

I shushed her. “Please you can mock me all you want when he’s gone but please just distract Jason long enough for me to get back in there?” I flashed my best pouty face and puppy dog eyes.

Piper sighed, but went to leave, quietly chanting “Beth’s on the rebound” a few times. I waited a couple seconds before cracking the door to listen.

“Jace, why don’t we hang out out here for a couple minutes?” Piper purred.  _ God, anyone would listen to her if she always talked like that. _

I took it as my cue and sprinted as quietly as possible back to my room, shutting the door behind me and slumping against it, breathing a sigh of relief.

When I looked up, Percy was almost fully dressed again, he was just missing the shirt I was wearing.


	10. Percy's Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy changes his mind about how to win Annabeth.

**Percy’s POV**

Annabeth was wearing my shirt and nothing else, I was dressed except for my shirt. It was a little awkward. We started talking at the same time. 

“Percy, what are you doing?” met with “I’m sorry, Annabeth.”

“What? Sorry for what, what’s going on?” she said. She was flustered. 

“I just- I want to do this right. And this isn’t right.” I said, feeling absolutely horrible.

Annabeth came to me, she looked almost desperate. She ran her fingers on my chest. I sighed. “This doesn’t feel right?”

“Of course, it does, Annabeth-” she started kissing me, it felt amazing, but also desperate. It felt like she needed me, which appealed to my other head’s sensibilities. I pulled away again. “Annabeth, I want to do this right. I want this! I want you,  _ god do I want you _ , but I want more than just sex. I want to date you, I want to  _ meet  _ you.”

“We’ve met!” she looked hurt, which killed me and almost melted my resolve. “We met at the bar.”

“Annabeth we don’t know each other! I don’t know your likes and dislikes, I don’t know anything about your family, I don’t know what you do for a living, what you do for fun,  _ god, Annabeth _ I don’t even know your last name!” I sat down on her bed, putting my head in my hands.  _ I’m throwing away what could be my only shot at sleeping with Annabeth, _ One part of my brain warned. But another part prevailed.

“I want love, not lust, Annabeth. I want to know you. I want to earn you.” She was quiet for what seemed like eternity. She sat down next to me. I didn’t want to look up, I was terrified that she’d give me a look that would melt my resolve. “I want to earn  _ this _ .”

“Okay.” She said, two eternities later.

“What?”

“Okay, Percy. We can start by you taking me out to dinner tonight. Go home. Pick me up at eight?”

“Yes, absolutely. I will be here at eight o’clock sharp.”

I tried not to watch as she got dressed again, out of respect for her.  _ We haven’t even been on a date yet _ , part of my brain said.  _ Yeah, but you’ve seen her naked, made out with her, fingered her, and were about to have sex with her _ , another part reminded. She handed me my shirt once she was dressed again. I put it on, asking “are you sure this is okay? You just look so...disappointed.”

“Yes, Percy. I’m sure. Yeah, I’m a little disappointed. I was going to have sex with a drop-dead gorgeous guy today and now I’m not. But that’s okay, because he’s taking me to dinner.”

I couldn’t help myself. Between the flattery and the understanding, I pulled her to me and kissed her. I had to. God, her lips tasted like strawberry lip balm and she smelled like the beach on a sunny day.  _ Maybe I’m in love already _ .

She pulled away first, a grin stretching across her face. “So, where are you taking me? I need to know how I should dress.”

I thought for a second before asking her to turn around. “What? Percy-” 

“Please?”

“Oh, fine.”

I smiled and watched her turn around. 

I opened a drawer and was face to face with all of her panties and socks and  _ is that lingerie? - No, not important, get out of there. _ I pulled open another drawer and saw her various tops. I dug around until I found one. It was the same color as the one she was wearing now, but lower cut, and probably tighter. Another drawer and I found a pair of light blue skinny jeans. I left them neatly on her bed.

“Can I open my eyes now, seaweed brain?”

That caught me by surprise. “No. Seaweed brain?”

“I figure, well, Jason said you’re a swimmer, but you’ve got a tan so you probably go to the beach fairly often, and your eyes-” she stopped. 

_ Please don’t stop talking _ . I came up behind her, wrapping my hands around her waist. She sighed. “And my eyes?” I prodded.

“ _ And your eyes… _ They’re like the ocean. Every time I look at them they’re somehow different, sometimes dark and stormy, sometimes like a beach in the bahamas. They're amazing.”

I planted a soft kiss on her neck. She sighed again.

“Thank you, Annabeth.” I turned her around to face me before kissing her, hard. I felt her ease into my arms. It felt easy, comfortable. Like we had been doing it since the beginning of time. “I’ll see you at eight,” I whispered, and I was out the door before she opened her eyes again. 

In the hallway, Piper brushed past me roughly. Jason was standing in their living room, his shirt off, his belt buckle, button, and zipper undone, with a bright pink mark starting to show on the side of his shocked face. 

I stood next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Jace, what-”

“I  _ don’t _ want to talk about it.” He was angry. He stopped staring down the hallway and got redressed. 

We left the apartment and headed downstairs. I was calling an Uber while he paced the sidewalk. I wanted to ask him what happened, but he was angry again. I was worried, I didn’t want to push him over the edge, but I knew he needed to talk about whatever happened.

The Uber got there and whisked us off to our apartment building. He finally spoke when the elevator doors shut in front of us.

“I, uh-” he startled me. “I messed up. I messed up bad.”

“What-”

“Things were getting hot and she got on top of me. She whispered that she wanted to try something. She wanted to be in charge.” He covered his face with his hands, I wondered if he was trying to hide tears.

The realization of what happened hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh, Jason-”

“She hadn’t done that before. It surprised me. She started to - well, she got on top of me and asked if she could…” He stopped himself. I saw the tops of his ears turn red and behind his hands, I’m sure his cheeks matched. 

“Jace, you don’t have to-”

“She asked if she could choke me,” he spat out. “I thought it would be fine, I told her yes. But then I didn’t say ‘Piper’.”

“Jason-”

“I called her ‘Reyna’, Percy? What the fuck is wrong with me? I knew that it was Piper, and I knew that Reyna was long gone, but then why-” the elevator doors slid open again, cutting us off. I just wanted to get him inside as fast as possible so if he was going to break down, at least he could do it in private.

And he did. When we got inside, Jason lost it. His words were incoherent, he was babbling.  _ At least he isn’t angry anymore _ . He switched between being crumpled on the floor and pacing back and forth across the living room, talking about Piper, he can’t lose Piper, and cursing his parents or Reyna for messing him up so bad. After a little over an hour, he seemed to have the worst of it out of his system. He sat down leaning against the wall, really quiet, a few tears falling down his face. 

“I can’t lose her, Perce,” he almost whispered.

I sat down on the floor next to him. “I know.”

“I think I’m in love with her.”

I felt so bad for him in that moment. “I know, Jason.”

“I just want to go back there. I want to go back and beg for her forgiveness. God, how can she ever forgive me?”

“I think she probably feels the same way.”

“No, she probably hates me.”

I didn’t want to mention it to him, but the red mark that was barely faded certainly didn’t deny his worry.

“I doubt that, Jason. I’m sure she’s mad, but once she cools off I know she’ll understand. She’s a great girl.”

He nodded for a second, then looked at me. “Why were you there?”

I wasn’t sure if I should tell him everything. I was worried that it might hurt him more or make him uncomfortable. I remembered that when I was growing up, my mom would always tell me that “friends and family are honest, even if it hurts sometimes”.  _ Right as always, mom. _

“I was with Annabeth. She texted me and I needed to get out of the apartment,” I said, trying to avoid saying “Piper”. I saw his face flush a little. “And she invited me over. We talked for a while. She thanked me for my help with Luke. Said I helped her realize that she could do better. I told her about Rachel. We kissed. We, um, started to move on. I mean, she went to find a condom, but I was thinking while she was gone and I guess I just didn’t want to be a rebound or a one-night stand or anything. I  _ really _ like her, Jace. I mean, she’s something else. I wanted to do this right and that didn’t feel right. So I’m taking her out tonight. Picking her up at eight.”

I felt like I was babbling, but while I talked, Jason’s face turned from “melancholy” to something reminiscent of “child at story time”. He was smirking at me, though his eyes still had a hint of sadness.

“Dude, that’s awesome,” he said, offering a fist to bump. 

I bumped his fist. “Yeah, but look man, if you need me to stay tonight, I can postp-”

“No. No way, man. You’ve come too far to back out now. You need this date. Annabeth does too. I’ll be fine,” he reassured me. “What’s your plan?”   


 

* * *

“Okay, how’s this one?”

“Percy, I swear to god if you show me one more outfit I’m going to lose my mind,” Jason stated without looking up from the the video game he was playing. 

“C’mon, Jace, just this one more?” I begged. 

Jason sighed and turned to me. He nodded, approvingly. “Yeah, that looks good.”

_ Seriously? _ “Jason, you’ve said that about the past four combinations.” 

“Yeah, and all four looked good, sue me.”

I glanced at my watch. 7:30. I didn’t have time to try on anything else. I kept my dark jeans and switched from the red button up to a blue and gray plaid one. With one last look in the mirror, I mussed up my hair a little and grabbed my jacket. 

“Good luck with your game, man!” I shouted as a goodbye to Jason. 

“Good luck with your date!” He yelled back. 

The ride over to Annabeth’s was a short one. I got there with 10 minutes to spare. I looked around and noticed a small flower cart. I walked over. There were a dozen choices; roses, sunflowers, a few others that I wasn’t sure of their names. One bouquet caught my eye however. It was small but I liked them. I bought them and went over to their apartment buzzer. Piper answered.

“Oh why hello sir, I understand you are here to court my dearest sister and accompany her on an outing, but she is currently overwhelmed by all of the-”

“Piper stop it! Come on up, Percy. I’ll be ready in 5 minutes!” Just the sound of Annabeth’s voice made my heart flutter. I could barely remember the last time I got butterflies this bad.

The buzzer sounded and the door was unlocked. I took a deep breath and made my way up to their apartment. I was just about to knock on the door, when it swung open in front of me. Piper stood at the door, looking at me with an expression that was changing by the second; she flipped between angry, sad, and excited at rapid fire. I felt like she was Annabeth’s father and I was the sixteen-year-old geek about to take his daughter to prom. Still, she invited me in.

I sat down on the couch nearest the door and waited for Annabeth. A couple minutes later,as promised she walked out. Light blue skinny jeans, dark blue low cut blouse, a pair of gray heels, a small bag that looked like the cover of a classic book, and a gray cardigan draped over her arm. Her beautiful blonde curls were half pulled up. She was so beautiful. The only thing in my brain was the word  _ damn _ echoing and bouncing around.

“I, uh, bought these for you,” I managed. “I didn’t know what you liked so I hope these are okay.”

She took the bouquet and said “forget-me-nots and daisies. They’re beautiful. Thank you, Percy.” She smiled at me, and it seemed to me that it was the first fully genuine smile of hers that I had been witness to. At that moment all I knew was Annabeth’s smile and the fact that I wanted to keep that smile on her face as much as I possibly could.

“I’ll take care of these,” Piper cut into my thoughts. “You two go have fun.” She took the flowers from Annabeth, giving her a slight hug and a kiss on the cheek before rushing off to the kitchen.

“Annabeth, you’re so-” I started.

“Yes?”

“Beautiful. You’re beautiful.” 

Annabeth, blushed and looked away.  _ When was the last time someone told her she was beautiful?  _ I watched her as she looked just about anywhere beside my eyes. She shifted her stance and pushed a stray hair from her face. 

“Ready to go?” She asked, snapping me out of the trance I was falling into. 

“Of course, milady,” I replied, offering my arm. 

She laughed and took it, following me out the door. She said a goodbye to Piper and we were on our way. 

We walked because it was a nice night. We stopped on the sidewalk in front of a set of neon lights. 

“The bar where we met,” Annabeth smiled. “You’re...”

“Sweet?” I offered. “Romantic? Adorable?”

“A goof.” She finished, smirking at me.

“Yeah, but you like it.”

She rolled her eyes. “I guess so.”

I held the door and gestured inside. “Well, we can stand here and talk about how much you adore my goofiness, or we can go inside.” She rolled her eyes again, but she went inside. 

I led her to the table I had called ahead and reserved for us. It was the booth where I had first talked to her. She must have noticed that detail because she smiled and planted a kiss on my cheek, effectively making my face go pink. 

We ordered a couple drinks and an appetizer and sat down to have the barroom chat we had missed out on. We talked. A lot. About our names, where we’re from, our parents and families. Without either of us intending to, the talks got deeper. We talked about how Annabeth believes in the ancient greek gods so she never says “god” but always “gods”. “I swear they’re still around!” she laughed at me. We talked about habits we wanted to kick and how both of us had traumatic experiences as children; I lost my dad, her mom left. We agreed that we should lighten up the conversation. We moved on to likes and dislikes, turn-ons and turn-offs, pet peeves, nicknames. People try to call her Anna or Annie, but she hates it.

“What about ‘Beth’?” I asked.

“Only Piper calls me that,” she answered quickly.

“Oh, sorry I-”

“But,” she cut me off. “I think it’d be okay if you did, too?”

I smiled. The date was good. The date was _really_ _good_.


	11. Annabeth's Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth wakes up the morning after her date with Percy and tries to fill in some gaps.

**Annabeth’s POV**

_“Oh gods, yes, Percy!” I screamed as he worked his tongue against my clit. I came hard, Percy distanced himself from me to give room for my hips as they bucked. As I shook from my climax, Percy grabbed my waist, pulling me towards the edge of the bed and him, sinking himself into me. My body moved on its own; my back arched, my legs opened, my eyes rolled back into my head and then slammed shut as he fucked me mercilessly. I came again. When Percy’s voice said “Annabeth, I-” my eyes fluttered open again, ready to beg him to fill me. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t Percy. It was_ Luke _._

 

* * *

I woke up in a cold sweat. I sat up and turned to look at my alarm clock. _5:00 AM_. I took a deep breath, stifling a scream and a sob, not wanting to wake Piper. Instead, I woke someone else.

“Beth?” said a voice near me. There was sleep in his voice. I tried to think back to what happened the night before.

“ _Percy?_ ” I called back in the darkness.

“Beth, s’okay. ‘m here,” Percy sat up, rubbing circles on my back. “Your seaweed brain is here.” I couldn’t help it; a sob escaped. He shushed me and pulled me to him, wrapping me in a hug. I sobbed into his chest as he hushed me and stroked my hair. We stayed like that until we both fell back asleep.

* * *

 

 

“Annabeth? You awake?” Piper said from behind the door, waking me from my sleep. I struggled to pull myself from Percy’s arms. _Percy’s arms? No-_ I pulled the blanket back, revealing _thankfully_ that Percy still wore his dark jeans and I wore my pajamas. I sat up and it felt like the whole world turned upside down. My stomach bubbled and I was starting to remember how the previous night ended.

“Yeah, Pipes. Just give me a second,” I replied. _Get your shit together, Annabeth. You_ cannot _let Piper see this little scene._ And just like that, Piper opened the door to my room to see me getting out of bed - a bed that I had been sharing with Percy, who was at the very least - as far as Piper would be aware - shirtless. The following was an anomaly; Piper was speechless, her jaw dropping nearly to the floor.

I tried to get out bed faster but nearly fell over. Luckily, this triggered Piper into take-care-of-hungover-friend mode, and it seemed that she would temporarily forget about the sight she just saw.

When I finished vomiting into the toilet, Piper had a glass of water waiting for me in the kitchen.

“Let me start with this,” she began as I took the glass and we sat at the table. “What do you remember of last night?”

I thought for a moment. There were definite holes in my memory. I drank _much_ more last night than I should have. “Percy took me to the bar where we met. We talked, had a few drinks, got some food, and then we-” I stopped.

“What? Then you what?” Piper questioned, almost too eagerly.

 

 

* * *

_“Beth?” Percy asked into the bottom of his beer bottle._

_“Yeah, seaweed brain?” I replied, feeling warm in my chest, but feeling the warmth rise to my cheeks as he said my nickname. He smiled at the use of his._

_“You drunk?”_

_“No, I don’t think so.”_

_He looked me dead in the eyes, intense green meeting my gray. “Wanna be?”_

* * *

 

 

“I think we did _shots_ ? No. No, I _know_ we did shots because he thought he could out-drink me,” I informed Piper.

“Seriously?” she asked. I nodded and Piper scoffed. “You’re a lightweight.”

“I hold it better than you,” I countered.

“Well, I’m not going to deny that _I’m_ a lightweight but _why_ , Annabeth, would you think that you could beat a man - a man who is bigger than you anyway - at _shots_?”

“I-” I tried to think of a reason. Only one came to mind: “He just brings out this competitive side in me. I think we played pool after the shots. Or maybe during the shots? But after pool...”

 

 

* * *

  _“Annabeth,_ please _take me home with you,” Percy begged me, contradicting his tone immediately by slamming me against the door of the supply closet we’d wandered into._

_“What makes you think I’d want to take you home with me?” I scoffed, even though I already had that damn button-down shirt half way off his shoulders._

_“_ Please _, Annabeth,” he pulled off his button down, and then his t-shirt exposing the tanned and toned muscles underneath. “I_ need _you.” And by ‘you’ he must have meant ‘your ass’ because that is exactly where he grabbed as he busied himself kissing and biting at my neck._

* * *

 

 

“ _Annabeth Chase,_ you tell me what happened next _right now_ or I _swear_ I will die on the spot because I have to live vicariously through you until Jason comes back,” she warned, her voice starting to break towards the end of the threat.

“I’m sorry, Pipes. That’s all I remember. Next thing I remember I woke up in the middle of the night with Percy after a horrible nightmare and he-” I hesitated, not wanting Piper to feel worse than she already was, but when I looked at her, she was waiting for me to continue. I took a deep breath. “I had a nightmare. Well, it didn’t start out a nightmare. We were having sex- Percy and I- and it was _amazing_ and I closed my eyes just for a minute but when I opened them again, it wasn’t Percy anymore,” I paused again, trying not to relive the dream. “It was Luke.”

Piper’s face fell as she collided into me, hugging me and not letting go for a good couple minutes. She pulled back and looked at me expectantly.

“Well, when I woke up, I kinda didn’t know Percy was there, but when I woke up, he woke up too. He held me until we fell asleep.”

“Well, aren’t I just Prince Charming?” Percy chimed in, making both me and Piper jump.

“Percy,” I responded, turning to face him and trying my best to keep the fright out of my voice. “I didn’t hear-” as I faced him, I realized he was still shirtless, his belt was missing, making his jeans fall slightly to reveal just the top of the waistband of his boxer briefs. After a moment, I noticed that my mouth was hanging open. “I didn’t hear you get up,” I finished quietly. Piper repressed a laugh, kicking my leg under the table.

“I’m kinda quiet,” he said, lingering on the last word. “Most of the time,” he continued, staring directly into my eyes. “When I want to be.”

Piper stood up extremely quickly before making an excuse to leave that neither Percy nor I seemed to notice.

“So, we had sex?” He said, breaking the silence, a grin spreading over his face.

“In a dream, not for real,” I paused to think. “Did we?”

“No, we didn’t. I think we might’ve if you hadn’t been so loud in that broom closet,” he teased.

Pieces were coming back to me and slowly. “Oh, oh gods we got kicked out of the bar.”

“Thank goodness not permanently - I actually like that place - but yes, yes we did. And then, you passed out.”

“Oh, good,” My cheeks were burning and I’m sure that my entire face was a bright pink. “Where?”

“In the cab on the way here.”

“Oh gods, I’m so sorry.”

Percy chuckled softly. “When we got in the cab you handed me your keys and said something like ‘wake me up when we get to my room’ and then you passed out. So, when we got here, I brought you in.”

I sat for a moment, thinking about how sweet Percy had been and how sorry I was that he had to deal with drunk-me, but then something occurred to me. I stood up and walked over to him and just before I got to him, a fairytale moment happened; I tripped and fell against him, he held me up and helped me regain my balance. Suddenly, I was looking up into Percy’s eye and he into mine. It felt good. It felt _right_.

“Why did you stay?”

Percy sighed and wrapped his arms around my waist, looking at me like he didn’t want anything more than to start kissing me, but he restrained himself. “You asked me to. You _did_ ,” he said to my incredulous look. “You just started mumbling on about how you wanted me to stay, you didn’t want sex anymore, you just wanted me to stay.”

My eyes filled up with tears because I was _so_ glad he stayed.

“You said you wanted me to stay so I could protect you.”


	12. Percy's Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy spends the night at the request of a beautiful woman.

**Percy’s POV**

“Theese,” Annabeth slurred, mispronouncing the word. “Are my keys. They’re  _ very  _ important,” she leaned in towards me as if she was telling a secret. “They’ll get you into my apartment,” she giggled, winking at me in a very obvious way.

“Oh, I’m sure,” I told her, knowing she was way too drunk (as was I) to even think about having sex.

“I want you to have ‘em,” she said in a sing-songy way, dropping them into my lap. She laid her head onto my shoulder, quietly saying “You can wake me up when we get there.”

The fluttering in my chest was so strong, it felt like I was going to flutter apart. I planted a kiss on her forehead, adjusting my shoulders in the hopes that her neck wouldn’t hurt too bad.

When we got to her building, I really tried to wake her up, but she just wouldn’t budge. The cab driver, looking irritated, suggested maybe picking her up. I did, and I carried her all the way to her apartment. When we got to her room, I laid her down on her bed, and the sight sort of took my breath away. Annabeth, laying there, peaceful, with a halo of her golden hair around her head. 

I tore myself away from the scene to leave. My hand was on the doorknob when I heard a sharp inhale.

“Percy?” Annabeth called from her bed.

“Yeah, Annabeth?”

“Please stay.”

I sighed “Beth, I gotta go. You need to get some sleep. I can come back tomorrow.” She sat up quickly, stumbling towards me. 

“No, no, no,” she chided, grabbing my hands and pulling me back towards the bed. And then she kissed me, hard. 

I pulled myself away, barely. “ _ Beth _ , we’re too drunk,” I told her, but she kept coming towards me until I was backed up against a wall. I thought she’d move in for the kill there, but she didn’t. In the very dim light of the moon shining through her windows, I noticed tears in her eyes. She sighed, heavily, and rested her head against my chest.

“I know. I know, ‘m sorry, Perce.” My heart felt like it shattered. She sounded so disappointed that part of me wanted to crash into her, give her the night she wanted.  _ What’s the point? She probably won’t remember it anyway and who knows if I would either. _

“Stay?” Annabeth asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“What?”

“Please stay. Stay with me tonight. You make me feel safe,” she explained. “I feel safe with you.”

Someone glued my heart back together before crushing it to dust.  _ I feel safe with you, too. _ How could I refuse?

“You can stay and protect me,” she continued.  _ Always _ .

“Okay,” I whispered to her, tears forming in my own eyes. She pulled away from me again and staggered over to her dresser. I sat on her bed and watched as she opened and looked into a couple of drawers before finding a pair of pajamas for herself. She changed, somehow without falling over, and then came back to me. 

“‘m sorry, Per-see,” she giggled at my name. “I don’t have any you sized pajamas.”

“It’s okay, I’m alright in what I’ve got.”

“Nnoo, you’re gonna not be comfy,” she whined. The more sleepy she sounded, the harder it became to argue with her.

I sighed. “What would you recommend, Ms. Chase?”

“I think,” she said, seemingly without actually thinking. “I think you should take all your clothes off.”

“Annabeth-”

“Your pants and shirt?”

“Beth, I don’t want you to wake up and think-”

“Just your shirt?” she begged. I sighed. 

“Alright. I will take off my shirt.” I did so, laying my button up on the back of her desk chair.

Annabeth scowled at me. 

“What?”

“I wanted both shirts, seaweed brain,” she informed me.

I shook my head and obliged, putting my t-shirt in the same spot. I kicked off my shoes and socks and placed them nearby.

Annabeth’s full-sized bed was pushed against the wall, so I got into her bed first. She crawled into bed. We were facing each other. It wasn’t very long before the alcohol hit me. I fell asleep listening to her breathing steadily next to me.

 

* * *

 

I heard her jolt awake. She took a deep, ragged breath. I could hear her trying not to cry.

“Beth?” I said, starting to reach for her in the darkness of what had to be the early morning.

“ _ Percy? _ ” she whispered back.  _ She forgot I was here _ .

“Beth, s’okay. ‘m here,” I calmed her, sitting up and trying to make circles on her back, hoping to help her relax. She started crying. The sound broke my heart and I wanted nothing more than to take away anything that made her cry. I pulled her into my chest. She sobbed as I stroked her hair.  _ Her hair is so soft _ . As her breathing normalized again, I fell back asleep.


	13. Annabeth's Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth has a difficult morning.

**Annabeth’s POV**

Percy recounted everything he remembered from the night before, which was most of it, over a cup of coffee.

He hardly seemed affected by the alcohol he had consumed the night before, making me endlessly jealous as my head pounded.  _ You drank just as much as I did, why aren’t you in hell, too? _

“I’ve kind of built up a something of a tolerance,” he said quietly, looking away.  _ Is this guy a mind-reader or what? _ “Over the past- well, 3 years - I’ve done more than my fair share of drinking.

As realization flooded over me, my eyes filled up. A tear fell into my coffee. I tried not to make noise, I didn’t want him to see this.

But, of course, that’s when he looked up at me. His eyes were sad but hopeful as he caught mine. A second later, something new came in; despair.

“Annabeth, I- I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t bring that up, I shouldn’t talk about her-”

I cut him off with what was supposed to be a gentle kiss, but it was more like a high-speed car wreck. I wanted to kiss the sadness and despair out of him. I pulled away, realizing that he felt uncomfortable.

I knelt down in front of him as he put his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry, Annabeth.”

“No,” I told him. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“But you were crying, I  _ made _ you cry.” His hands dropped, and he stared into my eyes, as though he was searching for the meaning of life.

“No, your story did. The fact that you’ve survived three years without your love,” my voice faltered, but I did my best to reign it in to keep going. “That is incredible.”

Percy shook his head but never moved his eyes from mine.

“Percy, it  _ is _ -”

“‘ _ Survived _ , Annabeth? Drinking yourself to sleep for a full year, skipping every other therapy session because you see her everywhere and you hear her voice and you  _ don’t _ want to lose that yet, considering  _ walking into the ocean _ just so you could find her and be with her again, does all that sound like  _ survival  _ to you?  _ Does that sound ‘incredible’, Annabeth?! _ ” 

I didn’t answer. I was in the corner of the kitchen. He was just a foot from me.

He didn’t seem to realize that his volume had risen steadily. He didn’t seem to realize that he was angry, enraged even. He didn’t seem to realize that he had stood up and backed me into the corner of the kitchen counters. He didn’t seem to realize that he reminded me of Luke.

“ _ Get. Out. _ ” a voice warned from behind him. Still looking confused about how he had gotten to where he stood now, he whipped around. Piper was standing in the kitchen archway, holding the can of pepper spray she always kept in her purse.

Percy gave me one last look. An expression I didn’t recognize, but I knew it would stick with me. He studied the floor as he left the apartment. Piper followed him out, still wielding the can. Once the door closed behind him, Piper locked the door and came running back into the kitchen, catching me as I collapse to the floor, sobbing. 

“It’s okay, honey. It’s alright, Annabeth, I’ve got you,” she repeated until I could catch my breath. 

She and I spent as much of the next week as we could in our pajamas, watching sappy rom-coms and eating pizza and other assorted junk, trying to forget about the guys that hurt us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry folks, it's a short one!  
> Don't worry, shit /will/ hit the fan in a second here :) :) :)


	14. Piper's Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Piper receives a phone call she wishes she didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning contains SPOILERS for this chapter, so it is listed in the end note! Please please click the link at the bottom of this note to see it before you read it! I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable with the content!!
> 
> I LIVE.  
> I would have posted this chapter sooner, but lots of timeline stuff happens (not time travel or anything, I am NOT that ambitious for my first fic lmao) and I wanted to make sure that as I wrote the following chapters, the timeline didn't get blurred and ((hopefully)) there will be little to no plot holes.

**Piper’s POV**

I woke up at three in the morning to my phone ringing. Annabeth was unconscious on the couch next to me, our bowl of popcorn resigned to sit on the coffee table, the movie we had been watching was now just replaying the DVD menu again and again. I checked the caller ID. “Jason Grace”. I declined the call. It had been a little over a week since he called me “Reyna”, and  _ now _ he was calling me? And at  _ three AM _ ?  _ I don’t think so. _

A cycle started. Ring, decline. Ring, deline. Ring, decline. The next time it rang, Annabeth started to stir. I took as deep of a breath as my lungs would allow, standing up from the couch and walking towards the hallway to the room. 

“Piper, thank go-”

“How the fuck  _ dare you, Jason Grace. You _ call  _ me _ by another woman’s name,  _ don’t even apologize for it _ , and now you have the fucking  _ audacity _ to call me at  _ three in the morning  _ for _ what _ ? A booty call? Like I’m going to give it up to  _ you _ ever ag-”

“Piper, please-”

“ _ No, _ you do  _ not _ get to ‘Piper please’ me. I deserve  _ so _ much better than anything you-”

“ _ Piper! _ ”

“ _ What?! _ ”

“Have you seen Percy?” He breathed into the phone. “Is Percy at your apartment?”

“I mean, unless he snuck in one of our fifth story windows and is suddenly not an asshole, no, I don’t think-”

“Pipes,” he interrupted, his tone dropping. “I need you to ‘know’, not ‘think’.” I noticed then there was a sense of urgency and panic in his voice.

I couldn’t think of what else to do. “I’ll call you back.”

“Pi-” he couldn’t finish; I hung up. 

I ran back through the hallway, double-checking the bedrooms, bathroom, and kitchen just in case.  _ Nothing _ .

I came back to the couch, kneeling down in front of Annabeth and shaking her gently until she woke up.

“Piper, what-”

“Annabeth, have you seen Percy?”

“Percy? What? No, not since he-”

“You’re sure? He hasn’t come by, called you, anything?”

“I’m sure, he hasn’t. Piper, what’s going on?” Her face was lit up by the glowing TV screen and her expression was terrified. I sighed and stood up. I couldn’t answer her now.

“When was the last time you heard from him?”

Her eyes darted around as if the answer was in the air near her. “Sunday morning. When he was here and then he left after he got angry. It was Sunday morning.”

I picked up my phone, tapping on Jason’s name.

“Piper-”

“Sunday morning. You?”

“Tuesday night,” he replied. It was three-thirty in the morning on Thursday now. “He said he had a date and he probably wouldn’t be home that night.”

“Have you-”

“I tried calling him, his phone went straight to voice-”

“ _ No _ , Jason,” I hissed. “Did you call the police?”

His breath hitched over the phone. “Piper, what do you think happened?”

“I don’t think he just disappeared,” I told him. “I think he was taken. Call the police, Jason. Your roommate has been gone for over 24 hours.” And I hung up.

I looked up after a deep breath and met Annabeth’s eyes. She was standing next to me now with tears streaming down her face.

“Percy’s  _ gone _ ?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The detective assigned to Percy’s case - Detective Malcolm Pace, I remembered - tracked Percy with traffic and security cameras. He followed Percy from our apartment to his, which he didn’t leave until he told Jason he had a date.

“Jackson left his apartment at approximately seven forty-two on Tuesday evening. He walked from his apartment to a bridge, at which he arrived around eight oh five PM. Unfortunately, the cameras at the bridge were disabled for a short period of time. When they started working again, Jackson was gone,” the detective informed us. Jason’s shoulders fell. I felt more weight on my arms as Annabeth was struggling to keep herself standing. 

It was now nine thirty on Saturday morning. 

“Three days,” Jason spat. I could hear the anger rising in his chest. “Three  _ days _ and thirteen hours and all you can tell us is that he disappeared around eight?”

“Mr. Grace, I understand you’re upset, but please-”

“My best friend, my  _ brother _ , is out there somewhere. He could be hurt, or worse!”

Annabeth sobbed, unable to keep herself together anymore. I held her tighter. “Jason, stop it,” I hissed.

Jason’s eyes left Detective Pace. He breathed heavily. “What can we do?”

“Keep your eyes and ears open, keep your cell phones on. From what you’ve told me, Percy’s pretty smart, if he’s in danger, he may try to contact someone for help.”

“Detective, do you have any leads?” I nearly begged. “Anything at all?”

He looked at me, then at Jason. He whispered to me, “Leave Ms. Chase with Mr. Grace, and come with me.” 

I reassured Annabeth that Jason would take care of her. They both sat down, Annabeth silently sobbing, Jason trying to keep it together for her. The detective pulled me into another room and had me sit down.

“Ms. McLean-”

“Piper, please,” I corrected.

He sighed. “Ms. McLean,” he repeated. “We have teams combing the river.”

_ Combing the river for-  _ “No,” I managed, realization hitting me like a ton of bricks.

“Ms. McLean, the cameras were out at eight oh five and back on at eight oh seven.”

“No-”

“He vanished in just under two minutes,  _ Piper _ ,” he asserted, raising his volume slightly to combat my attempts to shake the idea out of my head. “Ms. McLean, I think you and your friends need to prepare for the  _ very real _ possibility that Percy may have jumped.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: disappearance, possible kidnapping, implied suicide, missing person


	15. Percy's Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy agrees to something he probably shouldn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning contains SPOILERS for this chapter, so it is listed in the end note! Please please click the link at the bottom of this note to see it before you read it! I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable with the content!!
> 
>  
> 
> I'm sorry that it's been so long since I updated, I have been BUSY.  
> Anyway, I should be updating a few times today sooooo enjoy! Please let me know what you think in the comments! I love getting comments <3

**Percy’s POV**

I came to and it was dark, but not quite the dark I was expecting. This was nighttime dark. Moonlight and the lights of the city in the distance.  _ I wasn’t supposed to survive that _ . I tried to sit up, but the second I tried, my whole body lit on fire. I groaned in pain, my vision started to go dark. I shut my eyes tight, trying to will the pain away. When I opened them again, someone was standing over me. I tried to sit up again, this time realizing that I was tied up.

“Oh man, I thought maybe you were actually dead. Damn. Well, he told me that if you were alive to bring you to him. So good for you, you’re alive. But right now, I need you to be asleep.” A rag suddenly covered my face before I could protest. The world turned upside down and I was out again.

  
  


* * *

 

 

When I regained my consciousness,  _ again _ , it was no longer dark out. Unfortunately, I was still tied up. I was in a room of a house that, judging by the state of it,  _ must _ be abandoned or condemned. I couldn’t have been there long; my clothes were still damp from the river. There wasn’t really anything around that could be broken to use as an edge to cut my restraints.  _ Damn it _ . I was tied tight. And well. 

The realization of what was most likely happening washed over me like a tsunami.  _ Son of a bitch _ . I looked around. For anything. Any hope of escape. There was nothing. I tried to stand up. My legs were still aching from the fall and I hoped I had enough strength to balance myself on my toes. I stood up, still in the chair, narrowly avoiding falling flat on my face. Once I gained any semblance of balance, then came the next part of my plan. I thrust myself upwards and back with my toes. 

I had hoped to break the chair, but instead, I just landed flat on my back, still completely bonded to the chair. I groaned again, my head aching from the impact of the ground.

  
  


* * *

_ “I’m sorry, Annabeth.” _

_ “No. You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” _

_ “But you were crying, I  _ made  _ you cry.”  _

_ “No, your story did. The fact that you’ve survived three years without your love...that is incredible…. Percy, it is-” _

_ “ _ ‘Survived’ _ , Annabeth? Drinking yourself to sleep for a full year, skipping every other therapy session because you see her everywhere and you hear her voice and you  _ don’t  _ want to lose that yet, considering  _ walking into the ocean _ just so you could find her and be with her again, does all that sound like  _ survival  _ to you?  _ Does that sound ‘incredible’, Annabeth _?!” _

_ “ _ Get. Out. _ ” _

* * *

_ “Hi” _

_ “Gods, you scared me.” _

_ “I - um. I - ”  _

_ “Well, that was articulate.” _

_ “Sorry. I’m sorry for scaring you, I thought you heard me sit down and maybe you were just ignoring me which, I wouldn’t blame you because, I mean, well, shit, look at you and then look at me you’re definitely out of my league, but I just had to come and talk to you and god knows Jason wouldn’t let me leave this place without at least giving it a shot so here I am, I guess, giving it a shot?... Sorry. It’s- well, it’s been a while.” _

_ “That’s okay, it’s been a while since anyone came over to hit on me.” _

_ “Seriously? How? Is everyone else blind? You’re beautiful! I’m Percy.” _

_ “Annabeth.” _

* * *

 

 

My eyes felt like they were glued shut. I managed to open them. There was a man sitting backward in a chair in front of me. Instantly, I wanted to kill him. I tried to get up to do so, but I was still tied up.

“You’re a horrible, disgusting, disgrace to humanity!” I shouted, but I quickly realized that it did not sound that way. I was gagged now. He shushed me, unmoving from his chair in front of me.

“A boy is born to a mother and a father. Less than a year later, the boy’s father dies of a heart attack. His mother meets a man, six years later. She marries him, but he soon becomes abusive. Verbally, physically, mentally, you name it, to both mother and son. Seven  _ years _ of abuse and several escape attempts happen, but nothing changes. The boy’s best and only friend convinces the boy to try out for the swim team as soon as he gets to high school. He’s a natural. Within his first year on the team, he builds his way up to being the best of the team. He shatters school records. His sophomore year, he meets the new girl. She becomes the boy’s personal cheerleader. His junior year, his stepfather is arrested for drug trafficking. His senior year, his mother is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. It kills her one month after his high school graduation.

“His personal cheerleader stays by his side. The boy doesn’t stop swimming. He gets a full ride scholarship to Yancy University up north. The girl gets a scholarship for journalism. The boy swims for Yancy U and has been undefeated since his Junior year of high school. For an assignment, the girl writes about him. His backstory, his history, his plans for the future. She asks him ‘What does it feel like when you’re in the water?’ and he tells her ‘it’s like it’s no different from when I’m walking on dry land. It feels as natural as breathing. I don’t think I could drown if I tried.’

“The boy remains undefeated. Until his senior year of college. The regular season is coming to a close. The girl is going away. A trip to Italy, a dig at Pompeii. She’ll be the first to report on it. He loves her and she loves him. He proposes to her in the airport just before she boards. She says yes. She makes it to Italy. The boy swims and wins at the district level, then the regional. He trains for states. The girl doesn’t make it back. The boy is devastated. The boy decides the girl wouldn’t want him to give up. The boy swims. The boy swims at the state swim meet. The boy is defeated by point three seconds. Does any of that seem familiar, Jackson?”

I wanted to punch him in the mouth and I would’ve if my arms weren’t strapped to this  _ damn chair _ . He wanted an answer, but I couldn’t provide it.

He turned around, walking over to me. If looks could kill, I would’ve killed Luke twenty glares ago. 

He pulled the gag from my mouth and I choked on the sudden intake of air.

“‘I don’t think I could drown if I tried’, huh?  _ Then why did you try _ ?”

“Where is she, Luke?!” I screamed as soon as I could catch my breath again.

“We had an agreement, Jackson! You broke our agreement!”

“Where. Is. She?”

“Why did you try to drown?” His voice was suddenly calm, curious.

My breath caught in my throat. My anger started to boil down to make room for the despair that was replacing it. “I thought-” I began quietly.

“You thought,  _ what _ ?” he hissed.

“I thought that I could find her and be with her.”

“With who?” He whispered, a devious smile spreading over his face.

“Rachel. If I can’t be with Annabeth, I thought that if I went the same way as Rachel, maybe the universe would take pity on me and I could find her again.” Tears fell from my eyes and I let them. I love Annabeth, but I also loved Rachel. My heart ached for both of them.

“What did you do with her, Luke? She’s not here, so where is she?” I begged.

“Oh? Whatever do you mean?” he asked, not so innocently.

“You  _ know _ what I mean!” I snapped back. “Where is Annabeth?”

“You,” he looked at me in disgust. “Did not hold up your end of the bargain.”

“ _ What _ ?”

“ _ You were supposed to die, dumbass! You were supposed to kill yourself! _ ”

I knew that. My heart fell into my stomach.  _ Annabeth. _

  
  


* * *

 

 

_ My phone rang at around six. The number was blocked and I figured it was a telemarketer. I let it go to voicemail. If I was wrong and it was important, they’d leave a message. _

_ I had a new message, so I figured maybe I was wrong. _

_ “Hello, Percy Jackson. This is Luke Castellan. You know who I am. I know you’ve been trying to get into my girlfriend’s pants lately, but let me tell you something: she is not. Interested. Anyway, I thought I’d let you know so you could stop your efforts now before you waste too much time on that bitch. Oh, and by the way. Annabeth is currently tied to a chair in a basement, and there are only two ways for her to get out: you die or she does. Now, here are some ground rules. I’m not going to kill you, you have to do it yourself. If you write a note, she dies anyway. If you tell anyone anything, including the authorities, she dies anyway. If you do anything outside of what I tell you to, Annabeth. Will. Die. I will call you in 30 minutes. Pick up this time, or Annabeth dies.” _

_ There was screaming in the background.  _ Annabeth  _ was screaming in the background.  _ Annabeth _ was _ screaming _. I knew what I had to do. I sat there,  _ Annabeth screaming _ in the background of my mind now. He called 28 minutes later. I picked it up on the first ring. _

_ “Luke.” _

_ “Percy Jackson. Just the man I wanted to talk to. You must have gotten my message.” _

_ “I did. You sick bast-” _

_ “I’ve been watching her, you know.” _

_ “You what?” _

_ “While she still accepted that she belonged to me, I had a friend of mine install security cameras in her apartment. My friend Chris is very good with technology. I even had him install some in your apartment, just for funsies.” _

_ “What the  _ fuck _ , you lunatic?” _

_ “Oh, hush. You’re the one sleeping with my property.” _

_ “She is  _ not _ your property. She doesn't belong to anyone. I believe the last time we had this conversation, it didn’t work out well for you.” _

_ “Regardless, Chris will be watching your every move. You’ll tell him every exact step of the plan. One step out of line and Annabeth here,” there was a scream from the other end of the phone, followed by a heart-breaking sob. “Well, she dies, Percy. You don’t want her blood on your hands, do you?” _

_ “I do this and you let her go? Annabeth lives?” _

_ “Only if you hold up your end of the bargain. You die, she lives.” _

_ “Tell me what I need to do.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warning: kidnapping, rendering unconscious, threatening, abusive ex


	16. Percy's Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy hopes to see Rachel again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CONTENT WARNING: SUICIDE

**Tuesday, approximately 7:30 PM**

**Percy‘s POV**

I already felt like I couldn’t breathe. There was a plan in place. I would walk to the river. I would fall from the bridge. I would trade my life for Annabeth’s.  _ I would see Rachel again _ . I shook my head; no matter what I did to try and obliterate that selfish thought, it bounced around, echoing in my head. I didn’t want to think about Rachel when I was doing this to save Annabeth. She was  _ just _ starting to get away from this asshole. She  _ deserves  _ a second chance at love, even if it’s not with me. I could only hope that once I was gone and she was free, she’d report him and never have to see him again.

Since I got the phone call an hour before, I had taken to glancing up at the small black square in the corner above my door. An hour ago, I didn’t even know it was there. But now, Annabeth’s life depended on what the person behind the camera saw. One step out of line and she’d be dead. I stared at the camera with my best I-hate-everything-you-are stare.  _ How the hell did he get in here to install that fucking thing? _

I checked the time on my phone, which was to be ruined with me. 7:39. I felt my stomach flip.  _ If I’m going to do this, I’ve got to do it soon _ . I was supposed to leave at 7:45, but I was losing my nerve. That was something Annabeth couldn’t afford. With a ragged deep breath, I stood up. I faced the camera, and hoped it had sound.

“I can’t wait anymore; I’m going now,” I informed the camera, but more importantly, the disgusting bastard on the other side. 

I stood at the door, my hand on the handle, knowing that I wouldn’t come back. Panic started to fill my brain. What would I tell Jason?  _ “If you tell anyone anything, including the authorities, she dies anyway,”  _ Luke’s voiced echoed endlessly in my head. I tried to breathe the panic back down into my chest again. I opened my door and walked into the living room.

I felt my eyes well up, but I blinked it all away. I couldn’t let Jason know anything was wrong. I looked around our apartment. It was bare-bones, but we didn’t need much. It was home. 

“Hey, man. I didn’t know if you were planning on coming out or not,” Jason interrupted my thoughts from the kitchen.

“Yeah, sorry. Just been thinking a lot today.” I said. It wasn’t a lie.

“I get that. Anyway, I was trying to cook some spaghetti, but it stuck to the bottom of the pot again and burned. I was thinking pizza?”

I felt the panic start to rise again, but I pushed it down. “No, sorry man, I’ve got a date tonight. Probably won’t be home tonight.”  _ I hate this _ .

“Ooo!” Jason exclaimed, meeting me in the living room. “With Annabeth?”

Hearing her name shattered my heart. “No, it didn’t go great the last time I saw her.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Jason said, his face falling a little. “So, who’s this new girl?”

“It’s a surprise.” I hated that this was going to be our last conversation and I was just standing here, lying over and over to my best friend. 

“Whatever, Don Juan, but you’re going to tell me all about this mystery date when you get back, right?”

I glanced at my watch, 7:41. “Yeah, course.”

“Good, you’d better. Have a good time then,” Jason said, turning to go back to the kitchen. I caught his arm and he looked back at me, confused.

I hoped the look in my eyes didn’t convey how I was feeling.  _ A lie can’t be the last thing I ever say to my best friend _ .

“You should call Piper. She’s probably wondering why you haven’t called.”

“I know.”

“Jason, you’re my best friend, you know that right?”

“Percy, what-”

“You know that, right?”

“Yes. What are you-”

I hugged him. I couldn’t remember the last time we hugged, but I knew this  _ was _ the last time. It felt selfish, knowing that it could alert him that something was wrong, screwing up the plan and possibly killing Annabeth. But I couldn’t die knowing that I didn’t tell my best friend, the only person left in this world who loved me, how much he meant to me.

I pulled away, giving him a pat on the shoulder, and flashing the most charming and most normal smile I could muster, even though I was fighting back tears.

Before he could say anything, I was out of the apartment and heading to my own death.

Luke told me to make it fast and don’t let it be messy, but I told him that  _ I _ was the one ending my life, he shouldn’t get to have a say in that. I could tell he wanted to argue with me, but he just wanted me gone more than anything. So I took the stairs. I wanted to walk to the bridge. I wanted to feel every last moment I could. 

I got to the bridge. I found a suitable spot, blocked from the view of passing cars, no pedestrians.  _ No witnesses _ . I knew that Luke’s accomplice would turn off the cameras from the time I stopped walking until I was gone. “I  _ am _ a man of honor, Jackson,” he had told me. I knew that the only reason the cameras would turn off would be so I could destroy my phone. I kept my phone in my pocket.  _ It’ll probably fall out when I hit the water anyway. _

I took a deep breath. I wanted to get this over with. Annabeth had been stuck with that monster long enough. 

“Rachel?” I called out. I could feel the tears stinging my eyes and I could hear my voice breaking. “Rach, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that this is how we have to meet again. But I don’t have a choice. I finally started to move on. Just like we talked about. I found Annabeth. Well, I have to do this for her.”

I took a deep breath, and sat down on the ledge, my feet dangling over the river. I didn’t realize how far down the river was before. 

“I guess this is how you went, too, huh? Maybe because this is how I’ll go, I’ll be able to find you easier.”

I took one last look at the city. The lights just starting to blink on. I shut my eyes tight. I pushed myself off the ledge. 

_ I’m coming home, Rachel. _


	17. Jason's Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jason returns to his and Percy's apartment and makes an important discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: mentions of suicide, spying/stalking

**Jason’s POV**

_ “Jason, you’re my best friend, you know that right?” _ Percy’s voice echoed over and over again in my head.

He was gone. The police officer said that they’d keep looking, just in case, but I knew they were lying. I knew they were going to mark this case a suicide.

_ Suicide? How could it have been suicide? _ I knew that sometimes, people didn’t exhibit symptoms or show any warning signs. I just kept thinking that that wouldn’t be Percy. Percy is stronger than that.  _ Was, _ a voice in my head corrected me.

“Jason?” Dr. Brunner’s voice called me back to the room. As Percy’s therapist, he was consulting on Percy’s case.

“Sorry, I just kinda got lost there.”

“Mr. Grace, did Mr. Jackson show any signs of wanting to commit suicide? Did he make any comments or express any wishes to you?” Detective Pace asked, again I guessed.

“No, he didn’t. The last thing he said to me, he wanted to know that I knew I’m his best friend.”

“As you’d said. That was the only indication he’d given?”

“The only one that I know of.”

“Jason,” Dr. Brunner interjected. “Had Percy mentioned Rachel at all in the few days leading up to...his disappearance?”

I had to think about that one. “No, he didn’t,” I answered. “Actually, it had been a while since he mentioned Rachel to me.”

“Do you remember the last time he mentioned her?”

“He told me that he talked to her. It was a little over a week after he met Annabeth. So about two weeks ago now.”

Dr. Brunner sat back in his chair, contemplating this. While Detective Pace just looked confused.

“I’m the only family he’s got left, Detective. I’m his best friend,” my throat caught. “I  _ was _ his best friend, and he made sure I knew it. That was the last thing he ever said to me. I need to go now. I apparently have funeral arrangements to prepare.”

Both Pace and Brunner nodded sympathetically. Pace walked me out of the police station. I walked to our apartment. Piper and Annabeth had been gracious enough to let me sleep on their couch, and I hadn’t been up to the apartment since I filed the report. With a deep breath, I made my way up the stairs and to our door.  _ I shouldn't be here. It won’t be right without him. _ I made myself open the door anyway.

The apartment was dark, and just as I’d left it that night. It was silent. I pulled the door shut behind me. I felt my feet start to move on their own. First to the kitchen. I could practically see him, standing there in a frilly, flowery apron, making those blue pancakes the morning after we’d first moved in, singing “Bang Bang”. 

My feet brought me back to the living room. I looked around, seeing so many memories through my now wet eyes; video games while sitting on the floor because we didn’t even have a couch yet, angry rants about girls, dreamy late-night talks about our plans for the future, nights of comfort, nights of celebration. I remembered the night I came home from work to find Percy, in a pile on the floor in front of the TV. He was calling Rachel. He’d called her nearly 100 times, I’d later find out. When he looked up at me, his eyes met mine. He looked just absolutely  _ broken _ . 

Not wanting to remember him like that anymore, I found myself wandering into his room. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in his room. The door shut behind me. I walked over to his bed. It was made, but messily. I knew his mother always tried to get him to make his bed, ignoring his protests about it getting messy again.  _ He still made his bed because his mom asked him to _ . That’s one way I wanted to remember Percy. I sat down at his desk. I didn’t understand any of his work. He was always starting a new project, a new paper. He never told me, but I’d always been pretty sure he had ADHD. 

I leaned back in his desk chair, running my hands through my hair as the thought dawned on me:  _ what am I going to do _ ? I was the only thing resembling family he had, his parents were gone, his ex-stepfather in jail, no distant relatives, no grandparents. Just me.  _ He almost had Annabeth, too _ . I opened my eyes. Something caught my eye.

“What the hell?” I stood up, barely reaching the object stuck up in the corner of Percy’s room. I yanked hard on it, pulling it down with a small chunk of the wall hanging out of it. 

My heart jumped into my throat. I raced to the living room. Another, in the corner opposite the door. One in the kitchen above the doorway. I realized that I was touching them. I ripped open a drawer to grab a plastic bag and placed all three items in it.

I left my apartment immediately, planning to run back to the police station to find out  _ why the fuck _ there were video cameras in our apartment when I ran straight into Annabeth, knocking her to the ground.


	18. Annabeth's Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth finds something to help Percy.

**Annabeth’s POV**

Percy was gone. They were asking Jason some more questions, but if there wasn’t any new information that came to light, it’d be a cold case. Marked a probable suicide. 

 

* * *

_ “Annabeth, please. He disappeared in just under two minutes. There isn’t anywhere else he could have gone.” _

_ “Piper, there  _ has _ to be! He wasn’t depressed! He wasn’t suicidal!” _

_ “He lost his father at a young age, he lost his mother when he was 18, he lost his fiancée just a month after proposing to her! Maybe he was  _ tired _.” _

* * *

 

I had started walking to the bridge after a recurring nightmare that started the day after we’d talked to Detective Pace. It started with me standing on the edge of the bridge and as I fell, I left my body to discover it wasn’t me falling, but Percy. It felt like I was the cameraman filming a scene in a movie. I watched him hit the river, plunging deep into the cold and dark. Next, he was being dragged out of the water. All I could see was his face. He was unconscious. 

The scene shifted again. He was waking up. I still could only see his face. He was gagged and I figured he was probably tied up too. He looked around, his eyes darting around the room before landing on something behind me. His eyes turned dark. They looked like a raging sea; the kind with hundred foot high waves that could capsize any ship. Percy struggled against his restraints, trying to yell. 

Another shift, but it was the same place. Percy was no longer gagged, but he looked  _ exhausted _ . There were dark circles under his eyes and a glazed look in them. Some part of his head was bleeding, red streaks running down the side of his face. He looked like he was ready to pass out. Something alerted him. The rage that was in his eyes before returned, but it was barely noticeable under the unmistakable look of hopelessness that turned his eyes. He looked up at whoever had walked into the room. His eyes widened. “Please,  _ please don’t _ ,” he pleaded with the person. Something was thrust against Percy and he screamed in agony.

I woke up screaming with him, which quickly dissolved into sobs. My door burst open. Jason, wielding Piper’s old softball bat, stood, ready to fight off anything. He lowered the bat when he saw me, unthreatened by any external forces, and Piper pushed past him, hugging me as she sat on my bed.

Since the first one, I’d had the same nightmare every night. Four times in as many days. Now, I stood where he did just before the cameras turned off. I tried to get inside his head. Sure, maybe I didn’t know him very well. We’d been on one date. Almost slept together twice. But with the conversations we’d had on that date, I felt like I knew him.  _ Percy, where did you go? Please come back _ . _ I love you. _ That was new. Not  _ new _ . I’d felt it since our date, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself, or  _ him _ for that matter. But now, I knew that I should have.  _ Maybe he wouldn’t have gone. _

The tears I had forbidden from falling fell anyway. I slumped against the large iron support, sinking into the pile of leaves that had gathered in the corner, protected from the wind.

Underneath me, something felt off. I turned around, staying on my knees and brushed the leaves away. Upon revealing the cause of my discomfort, my heart jumped into my throat. 

There was a cellphone buried in the leaves. It looked just like the one I had seen Percy pull from his pocket during our date. I reached out to tap the button but stopped myself.  _ This is evidence now _ . I pulled a knit glove out of my pocket and put it on. It wasn’t great, but it would have to do. I tapped the button. By some miracle, it lit up. Suddenly, I was staring at the illuminated faces of Percy and Jason, laughing and standing by a pool. Jason was normally dressed while he received a hug from a very wet Percy. My brain stopped working. Percy’s face, laughing and happy, right in front of me. His name bounced around my head.  _ You need to get this to the police station _ , some voice in my head reminded me.

I grabbed the phone, shoving it into my bag and ran as fast as I could. But I didn’t go straight to the station.

I was seconds away from getting to and knocking on Jason and Percy’s apartment door when I found myself suddenly on the floor, Jason on top of me. He quickly rolled off of me, getting up and offering me a hand while profusely apologizing. He looked shaken, and not from the fall we had taken. We both tried to speak at the same time, apologized, then tried again. We chuckled, awkwardly, then I held up Percy’s phone. When I looked up, Jason was holding up a plastic bag. Our eyes met in a moment of terrifying realization. Percy  _ wasn’t just gone _ . 

We got to the police station faster than I imagined we could have. We had been running as fast as we could, but I started to fall behind as I just didn’t have the stamina. Jason grabbed my hand as he slowed down just enough, letting me set the pace. He pulled me through crowded sidewalks and across streets, regardless of traffic. 

Soon, we were at the front desk at the police station, demanding to see Detective Pace. The officer at the desk, nodded, walking away to find him. Jason stood there, trying to steady his breath. When he realized he was still gripping my hand, he let go, the tops of his ears tinting pink, and he mumbled an apology.

Detective Pace whisked us to his desk. Jason let me go first. I gave Pace the phone, telling him where I’d found it. After a few comments about the city’s “lousy crime scene techs”, Pace let out a long breath.

“This is useful, Annabeth. I’ll have to get a warrant to search it. See if we can find anything about what may have lead Percy to this decision.”

“But-” I started.

Jason cut in. “Detective, I hadn’t been back to our apartment since I first filed the report. I went back tonight and I found these.” He dropped the bag of cameras onto the desk. “They’re not ours. I have no reason to believe they were Percy’s. I think,” he hesitated. “I think these could be evidence of foul play.”

Detective Pace stared at the new evidence before him; the victim’s previously lost cell phone and three wireless security cameras found in the victim’s living space. Pace opened a desk drawer, pulling a pair of gloves out of it and sliding them on. He pulled a camera from the bag, inspecting it for a moment before asking “Did you touch these, Jason? Without gloves, I mean.” Jason nodded. 

Pace fiddled with something for a moment before a small door popped open. A smirk crossed his face. “Micro SD card. I’ll get this to forensics right away,” he told Jason. He looked at me, the slightest hint of sympathy in his eye. “I’ll call in a few favors. Maybe I can get a warrant a little faster.” And with that, he was gone with the phone and the cameras.

Jason and I looked at each other. There was a look of renewed hope in his eyes. I half-heartedly smiled, hoping I was conveying a similar look, but I was almost more worried now than I was before.  _ If Percy is alive, why hasn’t he tried to contact anyone? _


	19. Percy's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy discovers that he's not alone.

**Thursday, September 27th - Day 8 of Percy’s Disappearance**

**Percy’s POV**

I felt  _ exhausted _ . I felt like giving up. It had been a while since Ethan had left after my morning beating, and it wasn’t dark enough for Luke and Ethan to be coming back for my  _ evening  _ beating, so I figured it was probably two, maybe three. I sighed, wondering if Luke was ever going to kill me. My stomach gurgled and ached. I hadn’t eaten the day of my high dive, and it wasn’t like Luke was feeding me. My head was pounding. I wasn’t sure if that was from the beatings or the dehydration.  _ I guess he figures I’ve had enough water _ . 

I’m not sure if it was out of frustration or utter helplessness, but I shouted, as loud as I could “Somebody get me out of here!”

“Hello?!” Someone shouted back.

Something sparked in my chest. Was I hearing voices or did someone answer me?

“ _ Hello? _ ” I called.

“Percy? Is that you?” the voice replied. It was a woman. She was in the house, like in the room behind me. I felt like I recognized her voice, but I have no idea why.

“Yes, I’m Percy? Who are  _ you _ ?”

“My name is Silena. I’m trapped here. Luke has me tied up.”

Instinctively, I tried to break my restraints. Once I remembered the likelihood of that happening, I actually tried to think for a second. Why hadn’t I heard her before? Was this supposed to be some kind of trap? Psychological torture instead of physical now?

“Silena, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I think I’m okay. They’ve been leaving me alone since you got here.”

“Hey, glad to be of service.” Something resembling a smile crossed my face for the first time in a week.

“I’m sorry. I can hear you when they’re hurting you. You just sound so…”

“Broken?” I offered. “Tired? Pathetic?”

“ _ Strong _ ,” Silena replied. “Hearing you every day, even though they’re hurting you, knowing you’re still here, it gives me hope.”

I was amazed. “ _ Hope? _ ” My tone basically dripped with anger. I pushed the anger away. Silena wasn’t to blame here. She was a victim.  _ Like me _ . I tried to lighten my tone to somewhat joking. “You into some kind of kinky shit, Silena?” I heard a light laugh from the other room.

“I have hope because maybe someone will know  _ you’re  _ missing.”

_ Jason will. Maybe Annabeth and Piper.  _

“What? No one would notice if you were gone?”

“No,” she said sadly. “My parents abandoned me when I was a baby. I grew up in the foster system. I think I turned out pretty well, despite it. But I didn’t have anyone until I met Charlie. He just started talking to me in a bar one night, wouldn’t leave me alone.”

The familiarity made my heart ache for Annabeth. 

She continued. “But he’s gone now. He was in the army. His unit was shipping out. He told me he didn’t want to hurt me and he was gone. He died about a year ago.”

“Silena, I’m so sorry. That’s horrible.”

“Yeah. Well, I was starting to move on, you know? That’s when I met Luke, about a month ago. We started sleeping together. It wasn’t that often. But one morning after, he wakes up and suddenly he’s all in a rush. I asked him what was wrong. He told me that he was seeing someone else. He said that he’d been dating her for years but felt like they were drifting apart. She texted him the night before and broke up with him, but he wanted to go and try to fix it. I couldn’t be that mad. I’m a sucker for romance, I guess.”

“You  _ slept _ with  _ Luke _ ?” I asked, stupidly.

“Yeah. And then a week later he calls me. Starts talking about how he needs my help to get his girl back and will I help him. He wanted me to seduce the guy that was talking to her. That was you. I agreed. As stupid as I thought he was, he sounded desperate. I thought maybe it would give me some good karma, and who knows, maybe I’ll even get a good night out of it. I went over to his place and the door was cracked. He didn’t answer after I’d knocked a few times. So I just went in. That’s when I heard him telling this other guy his whole plan.”

“His whole plan? What was supposed to happen next?”

“I was supposed to seduce you and lead you to whatever address he gave me. I was supposed to sleep with you and wait until you fell asleep to leave and call Luke. Then he said…” her voice stopped. 

“Silena?” No response. “ _ Silena? _ ”

Her voice came back, I could tell she was crying now. “He said he was going to leave you here, tied up, until you just  _ died _ . I ran, I tried to go to the police but he caught me. He brought me here. He called you that night.”

I felt a sort of grief wash over me, but soon it was replaced by anger. I wanted to break these restraints, find Silena and break her out, then go give Luke a piece of my mind.

“Silena?” I called, attempting to formulate a plan in my aching head.

“Yeah?” she responded.

“When Luke or Ethan or whoever gets back, I need you to do something for me. Do you think you could pretend to want to help them?”

There was silence.

“Silena?” 

“I think I hear their car.” I listened, sure enough, there was the sound of a car outside the house.

“Silena, can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” she said, hurriedly. 

I heard the front door creak open and laughter coming from those entering.  _ Just your average night out; dinner, drinks, and beating the shit out of the guy your ex-girlfriend started talking to. _ I was getting nervous as the sound of their footsteps climbing the stairs echoed from the hallway. The footsteps stopped.

“So, Silena. How are you doing?” Luke’s voice chilled me, coming from the same direction as I’d heard Silena’s earlier.

“I’d be much better if you’d let me out of these ropes,” Silena said cooly, a big change from how she sounded just a few minutes before.

“Is that so?” Luke chuckled back. “So what? I let you out, you run away and call the police? Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“No, I can help you!” Her voice wavered, just the slightest bit.

Luke was quiet for a moment. I could practically feel him getting uncomfortably close to her face, just as he’d done with me so many times over the past week.

“And how  _ exactly _ do you think you could help me? Don’t forget; the last time you said you were going to help me, you tried to tell the police about my plan for Jackson.”

“I know. And I’m sorry for that. But I think he’s unconscious. He usually talks to himself when you guys are gone, but he hasn’t done that today so I thought maybe he’s unconscious or maybe even dead.”

“Ethan. Go check on Jackson.” I heard the footsteps coming down the hallway. I quickly dropped my head. It wasn’t that hard to act like I was unconscious because every nerve in my body felt like I  _ should _ have been. I shut my eyes and prayed to every god I could think of that Ethan would fall for it and the plan would work.

Ethan picked my head up by my chin. I held back a quip about the possibility of him kissing me and kept acting like I wasn’t conscious. 

“ _ Well _ ?” Luke’s voice came from the other room.

Ethan dropped my head. He then pressed a few fingers to my neck. After a minute, he sighed, walking back to the other room. “Still got a pulse, but he’s not really responsive.” I was too nervous to pick my head back up.

“What’s this plan of yours then?” Luke said.

“I’ll act like I’m a victim, too. I’ll say that I broke out and I’ll cut him free. We’ll try to escape together, but you’ll catch him again,” Silena replied. “Give him false hope and all that, right? Maybe he’ll just give up?” She didn’t sound too sure about the last part, but I was sure I didn’t want to get on her bad side.

Luke didn’t say anything. I hoped that meant he was considering it. 

“ _ Well _ ?” Asked Ethan. “What’s the plan, Luke?”

After another horribly long moment, Luke finally answered. “Keep the bitch tied up. Gag her too, don’t need her trying to conspire with Jackson any longer.

“Wait! I can-” Silena cried, her plea being cut off by a gag.

“You can’t do  _ anything _ ,  _ bitch _ .” I heard the sound of Luke’s hand making a hard and fast contact with Silena’s face. The sound made my heart drop into my stomach.  _ This is my fault _ .


	20. Annabeth's Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Detective Pace gives Annabeth some news that will help her regain some of her hope.

**Saturday, September 29th**

**Annabeth’s POV**

“Have you ever seen this guy before?” Detective Pace appeared at my door about ten minutes before. I’d invited him in, so now we were sitting in my living room, sipping coffee, while Pace held a photo of my lunatic ex-boyfriend’s friend in front of me. 

“Yeah, that’s Chris Rodriguez. He’s friends with Luke,” I replied. “Why?”

“Because he just turned himself in, confessing to helping Castellan. He said he’s the one who installed the cameras in Percy’s apartment, as well as yours.” The reminder of  _ that _ fact sent a shiver down my back. “He said he turned the cameras off when Percy went to the bridge. He confessed to a lot, Annabeth.”

My heart was pounding. I couldn’t think of anything to say. It felt like my brain was malfunctioning.

“He’ll help us track Luke down. Said he would and that he doesn’t even need a lesser sentence because of it.”

“So-” I faltered. I could feel the hope that I had been pushing aside for over a week rising up again. “Is he-”

“Rodriguez doesn’t know if Percy’s alive. He said all he knows is that Percy didn’t die when he fell from the bridge.”

I couldn’t help it, my mouth fell open. Percy fell  _ two hundred feet _ into the water and  _ lived _ ?

Pace noticed my the look on my face. “Yeah, that’s what I said, too,” he chuckled. 

“But how-” 

“I have no  _ idea _ , Annabeth, but listen; I am all for being optimistic, but we have to be cautious. We think Rodriguez will give up Castellan’s location. Where he’s holding Percy.”

My heart jumped into my throat without my permission. I  _ knew _ I shouldn’t get my hopes too high. Of course, this was a big deal, but the likelihood that he survived that fall was small enough, and who knows how Luke had been treating him now.  _ We’ll find you, Percy _ . I thought.

I could feel my heart beating hard even after Pace had left.  _ Percy could be alive. Percy could be alive. Percy could be alive. _ The words echoed in my head endlessly. I was sitting on the couch, my coffee cold and forgotten, when Piper came in. She kneeled in front of me, taking my hands in hers.

“Annabeth? Are you okay?” she said, barely a whisper.

“Piper-” tears formed in my eyes and I wasn’t sure if they were from relief or from fear. “Piper, he could be  _ alive _ .” The ugly sob escaped from my lips, confirming that it was fear. I collapsed into Piper’s waiting arms.

“I know. I know, Beth. Listen to me, if he’s out there, we’ll find him. We’re going to help him.”

 

—————

 

I woke up to my phone buzzing. It was quiet in our apartment otherwise. I was still in the living room, but Piper had thrown a blanket over me.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out. I was still in the living room, but it was dark now, and there was a blanket thrown over me. Piper must have gone to bed. I stood up and stretched, looking around the dimly lit room. A large pair of sneakers were by the door and a black jacket hung on the coat hooks.  _ Jason must be here _ . This was soon confirmed by a loud groan echoing from Piper’s room, which was quickly followed with a “ _ shhhh! _ ”. I checked my phone. It was only 8:30 pm. I rubbed the back of my neck, which was starting to ache from the odd position I’d fallen asleep in, and started to wander towards my room.

I stood in the middle of the dark hallway, a yawn stopped me in my tracks. The yawn took over my actions; I shut my eyes tight. When I opened them again, Piper was in front of me, wearing a man’s t-shirt and boxers. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. 

“So, I guess you and Jason are really back together,” I smirked. Piper didn’t laugh though. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the kitchen. We sat down at the table.

“I don’t know what came over him, Annabeth. He just showed up at the door and as soon as I opened it he was kissing me. I tried to ask what was going on, but he just kept kissing me. He stopped long enough to take off his shoes, but then he started again and he started-” she hesitated, and looked for a sign in my face to continue. I nodded. “Well, he started to rub down the front of my pants. He wouldn’t stop moving. He pushed me against the wall and gave me the most prominent hickey I’ve ever had,” she pulled down the collar of her shirt to reveal a large purple blemish on her neck. “Then he picked me up and carried me to my room and, I don’t know, had his way with me? He was really rough. Not that I’m complaining! I missed him.”

“So, this is a good thing then?” I asked, trying to make sure she was okay with everything.

“Oh, yeah, it’s all fine. I mean, I wished he’d talked to me a little before, but yeah, it was  _ good _ .”

“Are you still mad at him? For before, I mean.”

She thought for a moment. “A little. I mean, I’ve been missing him a lot and it’s been hard to be mad at him while his best friend is missing.”

We were both quiet.

“He fell asleep like five seconds after he came,” Piper grumbled.

“Ridiculous,” I replied.

“Ridiculous,” she agreed.


	21. Annabeth's Role

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth makes a decision on how to help Percy.

**Sunday, September 30th**

**Annabeth’s POV**

“I’m sorry, you want me to do  _ what _ ?” I sputtered.

“We want you to tell him that you want to talk. That you’ll meet up with him to talk,” my protection officer said. She spoke cooly, as though what she was asking me to do wasn’t insane. 

Officer Reyna Ramírez-Arellano had been assigned to protect me when Chris Rodriguez confirmed that Luke was the one behind everything. They were worried that he’d come for me or send his goons to collect me. I’d never met Reyna before, but judging by the way Jason acted around her, she was definitely the “Reyna” Jason had named before. I tried not to hold that against her; I actually really admired her. She held herself like a warrior, but she was easy going. I felt like I could tell her anything. 

In the few personal discussions we  _ did _ have, she seemed to have grown since her relationship with Jason. I had accidentally mentioned it and told her everything Jason told me. She said that his story was accurate and that they broke up because they realized they were toxic towards each other. She said that Jason was right to be wary of her and that she’d expected it. 

She also mentioned that since she was up to take the Detective’s exam, she was sort of shadowing Pace on this case. She told me a few things about what they’d learned about Percy’s past and family. The main thing that stuck out to me though, was what Reyna said my name was in Percy’s phone. “Wise Girl”. It felt like something out of a dream. After I’d called him Seaweed Brain on our date a few times he’d decided I needed a nickname. He came up with Wise Girl soon after. I tried to tell him it was cheesy, but he said he liked it. He’d used it a few more times that night and it stuck.

“She’s right, Annabeth,” Detective Pace chimed in, pulling me from my thoughts. “We had Rodriguez tell Luke to text you. We listened in on the wire.” He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.

The sound quality was rough, but she could still understand the words being spoken.

_ “Luke, what’s the goal here?”  _ Chris’ voice sounded even, but with a hint of nervousness.

_ “I’m going to get Annabeth back.” _ The sound of Luke’s voice saying my name sent a chill down my back.

_ “By torturing Jackson?”  _ The sound was quiet for a moment, but I could imagine Luke’s face twisting into some sort of you-dare-question-my-actions anger. _ “I mean, the police know what’s going on. Annabeth knows. Maybe all of this can end if you can just convince her to come with you. You can escape everything, run away.” _

The silence that had filled the audio was interrupted by an agonizing scream. My chest felt heavy and I realized in horror, that it was  _ Percy _ . It was the same scream I’d heard in my nightmares. My guts twisted and Piper grabbed my hand. I gave her a look that I hoped said “thank you” and she nodded silently.

_ “Okay. I’ll talk to her.”  _ Luke’s voice jarred me back to reality.

Pace stopped the audio and I looked back at my phone with a text that simply read “I know you know everything. Can we talk?”

“So what’s the plan exactly?” I croaked out.

“You’ll text him back, agreeing. He’ll invite you to that house - he hasn’t left it in a week according to Rodriguez - but you’ll come with backup.” Pace explained. “We’ll be listening in and when you see an opportunity, you’ll say a code phrase that will tell us to move in and take him into custody.”

“We’re gonna get this guy, Annabeth. I swear.” Reyna confirmed.

“Swear you won’t hurt him,” I demanded. 

“We’re going to do everything we can to get Percy home unha-” Pace started. 

“No.  _ Luke _ ,” I told him. “Swear you won’t hurt him. That you’ll go non-lethal.”

“Annabeth, we can’t-” Reyna chimed in. 

“I won’t do it if you can’t promise me that.”

“ _ Annabeth _ ,” Piper whispered, taking my hand. “After  _ everything _ you don’t want-”

“ _ No _ . He deserves far worse than any prison sentence that could be given, but death is too merciful for him.”

Pace and Reyna exchanged a small nod. 

_ I’m going to save you, Seaweed Brain.  _ I thought, hoping somehow he could hear me.  _ I’ll find you. I promise. _


	22. Percy's Suffering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy gets a rude awakening from Ethan.

**Saturday, September 29th**

**Percy’s POV**

On the rare occasion my captors would let me sleep, I dreamt. Nightmares about what Luke and Ethan would do to me the next time I woke up. Nightmares that started to feel like pleasant dreams about how maybe I wouldn’t wake up. Not that “passed peacefully in his sleep after being tortured for a week by his would-be girlfriend’s crazy ex-boyfriend” sounded like the ideal obituary line.

This time, my dream was of the women I loved. 

 

—————

The three of us walked along a surface about two feet wide but eternally long and suspended over a seemingly endless pit. Rachel led us, with Annabeth behind her, leaving me to head up the back. We walked for what seemed like hours, the two women talking and laughing, exchanging stories about me. We came to a fork in the path, the surface splitting into two in a Y shape. Rachel stood on one path and Annabeth on the other. They both faced me now, a look of vague frustration on their faces. 

“What’s going on?” I asked, feeling a little stupid.

“ _ You must choose _ .” Rachel and Annabeth said in complete unison in voices that were not quite their own.

“Choose? I don’t want to choose.”

“ _ You. Must. Choose. _ ” They repeated.

“I want to choose both of you.” I wasn’t sure which woman to look at so I glanced back and forth between them.

“ _ Only one. _ ” They hissed.

“What happens to the one I don’t pick?”

Each woman gestured to the path behind her. I watched as the path crumbled behind them, slowly getting closer.

My heart pounded. I watched both women, their expressions unchanging.

I took a half step towards Rachel. Her path seemed to repair itself while Annabeth’s crumbled faster. I jumped back. I didn’t want to lose either one. But then it occured to me; I’d already lost one.

I met Rachel’s eyes. I felt tears falling from my eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Rach, but you’re already gone.” I stepped onto Annabeth’s path, which repaired itself. Rachel’s path broke apart, catching up to her fast. She shook her head.

“It’s okay, Percy. Love her well, just as you did me.” With that she fell, but she smiled up at me. I said a quiet goodbye. Annabeth took my hand in hers, pulling me back to face her. 

“Percy, thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank-” I couldn’t finish my response as she kissed me. She pulled away, but I felt frozen, relieved to finally feel her lips against mine again. I could just barely smell the sweet strawberry scent of her shampoo. But then the ground shook. Annabeth cried out in terror, looking behind me. I turned to see a fifty foot tall Luke, smashing the path as he tightrope-walked along it. Each step made the entire surface shake. Annabeth was quickly losing her place on the path. A few more steps and she slid over the side. I grabbed her hand at the last second. 

“You have to let me go,” Annabeth shouted up at me. “It’s the only way!”

“I won’t! I’m not losing you!”

“You can’t pull me up and he’s getting closer every second!  _ Let go _ !”

I weighed my options and I only had one. I kept my grip on her hand and released my hold on the path. Annabeth screamed a protest as we fell, but I caught up with her, pulling her to my chest tightly. 

“ _ I won’t lose you _ ,” I whispered in her ear.

—————

 

I jumped awake, which was painful; I was still strapped tightly to the chair and all the injuries I had sustained ached any time I moved. 

Ethan showed up a while later, a dark grin on his face. I figured that if someone gave him the chance to do this professionally, he’d probably take it. He was setting something up somewhat behind me, not allowing be to see exactly what it was. 

“Morning, Jackson.” He grunted a moment later.

“And a good morning to you, Ethan,” I replied cheerily. “Isn’t just a lovely morning? Tell me, what sorts of beatings and torture will I have to endure today? Or will Luke finally let me die today?”

Ethan let out a small chuckle, but responded in no other way, which made me nervous. 

“You know, I think in another lifetime you and I could have been friends.”

“Yeah? Why not this lifetime?” He retorted.

“Well, there is the whole torturing me thing.”

Ethan laughed a little harder this time. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

I heard something click on and the sound of a small flame.

“You really want to know what’s up today?” he asked.

“Sure, it’s going to happen either way, right?”

I heard the too familiar sound of Ethan’s pocket knife flicking open behind me.

He came to stand in front of me, pocket knife in hand.

“You ever see those videos of people cutting things with knives heated to a thousand degrees?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, it’s not going to be close to a thousand degrees, but it’ll be hot.” He walked back to whatever he had been setting up. 

I strained to turn towards him, to catch even a glimpse so see if he was serious at all. There was one of those propane stove tops that people take camping sitting there while Ethan held his blade in the flames. I watched in horror as the blade turned a bright red. Ethan carried it to me. He grinned before shoving the knife into my gut. 

I can’t describe what happened next. I knew I was screaming, but I couldn’t hear myself. I knew Ethan was still standing in front of me, but my vision had gone white.

The only full thought I was able to form was an honest to god death wish.


	23. Annabeth's Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annabeth tries to convince Luke of her willingness to forgive.

**October 1st**

**Annabeth’s**

“Annabeth,” he said as though he couldn’t believe I was actually here. Something in my stomach twinged, as though I  _ actually missed him _ .

I tried to maintain my composure. I tried to think of every fucked up thing he has done since I broke up with him. Everything he did to Percy. “Luke,” I spat out.

“Annabeth, watch your tone, he needs to believe that you’re forgiving him,” Reyna reminded me in my ear.

“How are you?” Luke asked. His voice was light but full of concern. “Are you okay? Chris said the police had you.” He took a few steps towards me and it took nearly all of my strength not to move away.

“I’m fine, Luke.”

“Those pigs didn’t fill your head with lies about me, did they?”

“I don’t think they did, no.”  _ Because everything they’ve said about you is true _ .

“Tell me what they’ve told you about me.” His tone became more serious.

“What?”

“Tell me what they told you.”

“Well, they said that you asked Chris to install cameras in my apartment-”

“That was for your protection. I needed to make sure that no one would hurt you.”

“And Percy’s-”

“Same thing. I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t bother you too much.”

“And that you called Percy and told him that you had me tied up and-” my voice broke a little. 

“You can do this, Annabeth. You are stronger than this bastard,” Reyna whispered into my earpiece.

“And that if Percy didn’t kill himself that you would kill me. And then when he didn’t die that you brought him here to kill him.”

“I see.”

“Luke-” 

“So, no lies then,” He said. I met his eyes for the first time in months. They were as cold as ice and darker than I’d ever seen them. There were dark circles under his eyes. There was a cut on the side of his face that was starting to heal. I briefly wondered if Percy had given him that in a moment of fighting back. He looked  _ horrible _ .

“Let’s see,” he said. “I believe it’s a couple of counts of kidnapping, definitely assault for the torture, some kind of threatening. I’m thinking I’ve probably got some life sentences. So - understandably, I think - I’m going to run. I’m going to disappear. I want you to come with me.”

“You want me to come with you? Where will you go?” I felt dumbstruck. How could he believe that I’d be interested at all?

“Not sure yet. I’m having Chris do some research on countries that don’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S. to see if I can get away from it all. You ever wanna see Asia?”

“Luke-”

“Now, I know what you’re thinking. I know that pretty little mind of yours, Annabeth. You’re thinking ‘what about money?’ and ‘will we ever stay in one place?’, ‘is this a good idea?’. Annabeth, I will do everything I can to make you happy. We’ll do anything you want. I’ll be happy as long as you’re mine.”

I gulped. He disgusted me and what I was about to say made it so much worse.

“I will,” I croaked out. “I’ll go with you, Luke. I’ll be yours.  _ I know I’ll be safe with you _ .” The words left my mouth and everything happened in an instant. I stared him down, trying to cut through him with my eyes. His expression flashed from relief and joy to confusion and then landing on understanding. I took a millisecond to blink and the police were surrounding us.  _ Us? _ Then I realized. He had me. He’d spun me around and had a knife resting against my chest.

The police stopped immediately. They wouldn’t risk hurting me.  _ Shit _ .


	24. Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Luke makes a stand.

“Well, I’ve got to be honest, Annabeth. This wasn’t the reunion I’d been expecting,” Luke hissed into Annabeth’s ear.

“Did you  _ seriously  _ believe I was going to run into your arms after you’ve spied on me and my friends,  _ and  _ kidnapped Percy and tortured him?” she snapped.

“All he was going to do is hurt you! I saw the way he scared you the last time he was at your apartment. That was the last straw!” He pulled a radio from his pocket with his free hand. “Nakamura,” he said. “Do it now.”

Annabeth started to question the order but didn’t have the chance as the building behind her exploded in a ball of flames.

A scream tore from Annabeth’s throat. Inside the now burning house, Percy heard it. His vision was blurry and his ears were ringing, but he heard that scream. “Annabeth!” he shouted, but he was weak. He breathed heavily, smoke filling his lungs. He looked around. Ethan Nakamura was lying face down on the floor near him, a bloody gash on his head. Percy thought  _ there’s no way I’m going to let these bastards be the death of me _ . He pulled against his restraints to discover they were now looser than they had been. He managed to pull his left arm free. He sent a quick prayer of thanks to “whoever the fuck might be there”. 

His hand shook hard as he attempted to free his other arm. Once he got those restraints free he bent over to release his legs. The room began to spin as the blood suddenly flooded his head. He sat back up to steady himself before going back down to untie his restraints. Once fully free, he stood up and promptly fell back into the chair with a curse. He stood again, but slowly this time. He took a few test steps before kneeling down next to Ethan Nakamura. He quickly checked his pulse. He found nothing and despite the blazing heat of the house, his skin was starting to feel cold. Percy stood up again and backed away.  _ Silena _ , he thought.

“Silena!” He shouted, running from the room he was being held in and into the one that shared a wall with it. He found her coughing hard and tied up as he had been. 

“ _ Percy _ ?” she stuttered between coughs.

Percy scanned the room for anything,  _ anything _ he could use to free her. His eyes landed on a window that busted in the blast. He picked up the biggest shard he could find. He jogged back to Silena, gripping the glass tightly and using it as a saw against the ropes. After a few minutes, the rope snapped. And Percy pulled them away from her, offering a hand to help her up. She took it and pulled him into a hug. She quickly faltered, her leg was badly burned. 

Percy helped her to the window. Looking out, they saw the police, a SWAT team around the front of the house, and fire engines and ambulances pulling up. They then looked where everyone else was; Luke holding Annabeth with a knife’s edge pressed across her chest.

Percy growled. “Let’s go,” he said.

“Wait!” she called, pulling from his grip. “You need a plan! You can’t just storm out there, he’ll hurt her.”

That stopped Percy dead in his tracks. “What did you have in mind?” 

“My purse. It’s in the kitchen. Downstairs. I have a taser.”

Percy nodded. He put his arm around her and together they hobbled back into the hallway, there was a groan from the building and before they knew it they were falling. In the short distance between the second floor and the first, Percy found the opportunity to throw himself under Silena, cushioning her landing. Percy hit the ground floor hard and flat on his back, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Silena quickly rolled herself off of him, speaking rapid-fire, mostly asking if he was okay and apologizing for landing on top of him. He waved her off, trying to catch his breath, but mostly just catching smoke. A sharp pain stung his forehead. He touched it and when he pulled away his fingers had drips of blood on them. 

He cursed a little, but he didn’t have time to worry about that right now when there was a collapsing, on-fire house that he and Silena were still inside. He stood up, his left leg burning under the pressure. He let Silena lean against him again. 

They made it to the archway of the kitchen. The kitchen, with its old gas stove, was definitely worse off than the other parts of the house he had seen. Silena coughed violently, the smoke starting to fill her lungs. She tapped Percy’s shoulder and directing his attention to the kitchen table. Luck seemed to be on Percy’s side as Silena’s bag containing the taser sat  _ right there _ , but it became clear to Percy that his luck was running out as the legs of the table quickly became engulfed in the flames of the kitchen. 

Percy knew what he had to do. Without it, they didn’t stand a chance. He couldn’t risk Annabeth getting hurt. Wishing he could take a deep breath, Percy moved into the kitchen. Flames danced around him, and he could feel the heat searing his skin and clothing. There was a sharp pain shooting through his right leg, but he ignored it in favor of carrying out the plan. 

Next to him, there was a small explosion, sending Percy to the floor with a grunt. Silena cried out. He could feel an agonizing pain in his side. He realized quickly that he landed on top of a flaming chair. He stood, using nearly everything he had not to fall back down. He hadn’t realized it, but the blast had knocked him close to the table. He grabbed the purse, which had luckily been mostly untouched by the fire, and hobbled as fast as he could back to Silena in hallway. 

They made it to the front door, nodded at each other. Luke still had a knife to Annabeth’s chest and was shouting something at the officers near him, but he was facing away from the burning house. 

Percy limped around to Luke’s side, skirting around just at the edge of his vision. Annabeth saw him first. She looked like she was going to shout, her eyes welling up in relief. Percy threw a finger up over his mouth.

“Hey, asshole!” Percy shouted at Luke, who whipped his head around at the sudden noise.

“You-” he stammered. “You're supposed to be dead!”

“You’re telling me. All that effort - on both our parts - and here I still am. Bet that’s pissing you the hell off.” Percy was still circling him, coming to a stop when he was directly between Luke and the police.

“Once I get out of this, I swear to god, Jackson, I  _ will  _ kill you.”

“I’m betting on it.” Percy took a few steps towards him.

“Don’t! Don’t get any closer!” Luke shouted, stopping Percy in his tracks.

“I just want to talk, Luke. Look, I get it, a girl leaves and breaks your heart. I was angry too.” Percy inched forward, trying to keep his movements small.

“Yeah, right, you understand. Your girl died. It’s not the same as her leaving you for no good reason!”

Percy bit back a comment about Annabeth having “no good reason” to leave Luke. “No, man, there was another girl. After Rachel, before Annabeth. Her name was Caly. We met in college, became good friends. But we went our different ways. She found me about a year after Rachel died. She liked to look after me and at that point, I needed a lot of looking after. We got closer. I don’t know how she felt, but I fell hard and fast. But she was a nurse. One day she was looking after a patient and she said something just sparked. She left me. I was pissed. I almost tracked the guy down.” Percy kept inching forward. He was about 2 feet closer to Luke now. He quickly glanced over Luke’s shoulder, watching Silena attempt to get into place. She needed Percy to stall for another minute. 

“So  _ really _ , I get it, Luke. It hurts like hell. But maybe if you’d been kinder to her, she wouldn’t have left.”

Luke apparently didn’t like that comment as he made a quick movement with his right arm. Annabeth cried out and soon blood was seeping through her shirt. Percy’s eyes filled with rage and he started towards Luke, but before either one could touch the other, a loud buzzing sound came from behind him and Luke’s body seized up. The knife fell from his hand and he released Annabeth, who fell into Percy’s arms. The buzzing stopped and Luke fell to the ground, extremely dazed. Behind him stood Silena, holding her taser out, but her eyes were facing away from her target. She grabbed the knife quickly, throwing it to the ground near an officer, who picked it up and stuck it in a plastic bag. An EMT came over to Silena, shock blanket ready and escorted her to an ambulance.

Annabeth was now sobbing into Percy’s chest as they kneeled on the ground.

“Annabeth…” Percy groaned before falling unconscious.

“Percy?” Annabeth whimpered as EMTs surrounded them, they helped her up as they laid Percy back onto the ground. One EMT was trying to address Annabeth’s chest wound, but Annabeth wouldn’t take her eyes off of Percy. 

The EMTs that kneeled by Percy were moving quickly now and shouting things that sounded distorted to Annabeth. The last thing she registered before passing out was an EMT starting chest compressions on Percy. “Percy!  _ Percy _ !”


	25. Percy's Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy talks to Rachel one last time.

**Percy’s POV**

I wasn’t sure which way was up or down. Everything felt strange, like I was swimming in a pool of jello. I was pretty sure I was dead and condemned to live for eternity in this new jello reality. I heard some things. People talking about my...something, but I couldn’t really understand what. Sometimes I’d go to sleep for a little or so it felt. Like there just wasn’t anything anymore. I don’t know how long I’d been in this weird state.

At some point, a familiar face appeared before me.

“Percy,” she said.

“Rachel,” I stammered. She was here. She was  _ here _ . Right in front of me.

“Hello, sweetheart.” Rachel held her arms up, spread wide. I crashed into her. I wrapped her up in my arms, knowing that I’d needed it for three long years.

“You came looking for me?” She asked, not pulling away,  _ thank god _ . 

“Yes.”

“Percy-”

“I know.”

“Percy,” she pulled away now and I immediately felt the loss.

“Rachel, I know.”

“No, Percy. I’m not sure you do,” she commented. She walked away from me.

“Rach, what’s going on?”

She took a deep breath before she looked at me again.

“You’ve been fighting for your life, Percy.”

Something tugged at my guts. 

“How long?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know time anymore.”

I didn’t know what else to say. She walked over to me, taking my hand in hers and cupping my cheek in her other hand. She knew what I was thinking. She  _ always _ knew what I was thinking. “You can’t stay here. You can’t stay with me.”

“Can’t I?”

“Percy, you know you can’t.”

“What? Have I not had it hard enough? Rach, I was just tortured for a week and a half, I lost you, I lost mom, I lost  _ everything _ .”

“You haven’t lost everything. There are people out there, fighting for you so hard. They need you, Percy and you need them. They love you so much.”

“And you?”

“I’m not going anywhere. But this isn’t your time, Percy, and you have to go back. You know that, right?”

I let out a breath I’d been holding. 

“Who’d fight for me?”

“Jason, he sees you as his brother. He’s terrified. And Annabeth. She loves you, Percy. Don’t make that face, you’re not  _ that _ stupid.”

“Rachel, what-”

“ _ She loves you _ , doofus. She’s only left your side a few times. If she can be there, she’s there. She faced her abusive ex for  _ you _ . She came for you. Now go for her.”

I let that wash over me. You know that feeling when you’re trying to see how long you can hold your breath and you’re trying to stay as still as possible and you might even close your eyes to concentrate and as you’re just sitting there, holding your breath, you can start to feel your heartbeat in your chest?

That’s what I felt as Rachel planted a soft kiss on my cheek and slowly disappeared.

  
“ _ Percy? Get Jason, he’s waking up. _ ”


	26. Percy's Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy wakes up in the hospital.

**Percy’s POV**

The lights were too bright. Everything was overly loud. I felt an incredible amount of pain all over my body. There was a swarm of people around me. Doctors asking questions, nurses taking my vitals, and Jason trying to see through the wall of medical professionals.

“Percy?” A doctor said, lightly touching my wrist. I tensed a little.

“What?”

“I said my name is Doctor Will Solace. It’s nice to finally meet you. I just wish it was under better circumstances.” Dr. Solace held his hand out and after a couple of seconds of feeling a little stupid, I shook it. 

“Yeah,” I mumbled.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like a million bucks,” I said, the sarcasm falling off my lips before I could think better of it. Luckily, Dr. Solace smirked.

“I figured as much. You appear to be in fairly good shape despite everything you’ve been through. Obviously, your arm is broken,” he said, referencing my left arm in a cast. “You’ve got a bit more to your story, but for now we’ll let you be with your family and friends. I’ll be back for some tests and a general recap as far as your injuries go.” Dr. Solace stood up, patting my shoulder gently. “It’s good to have you back, Percy.”

Dr. Solace and his team left quickly, one of the nurses staying just long enough to turn up the pain meds flowing through my IV, giving me a kind smile.

Jason got to me quickly. He wrapped me in a gentle hug like he was afraid I’d break. He hugged me for a long time. When he pulled away from me, keeping his hands on my shoulders, he smiled widely.

“You look like shit, man.” he chuckled.

“Yeah, thanks,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Jason watched me for a moment. I could see the swirl of mixed feelings in his eyes. There was first and foremost relief and joy, but behind that, there was grief, anger, pain. I felt the guilt pang in my stomach. It was all my fault he was feeling that way. Tears started to well up in his eyes.

“Don’t you dare try anything like that again, okay?”

“Jase-”

“Percy, promise.”

I chuckled a little at Jason’s scowl. “It was a one-off thing, I swear.”

Jason’s expression warmed a little into one of amusement. “Bet you’ll always win ‘craziest-thing-I’ve-done-for-a-girl’ discussions, huh?”

“No kidding. Is she-”

“Annabeth’s fine. She’s gonna have a nasty scar from that cut, but she’s okay. She’s at a meeting at her firm right now, Piper’s been trying to get her on her cell.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.  _ Annabeth is okay _ , I told myself over and over. After a few minutes of Jason telling me about his and Piper’s reconciliation, Dr. Solace knocked and came back into the room. He sat on a rolling chair near my hospital bed. He looked at a clipboard he’d taken from the wall, then at Jason, then at me. 

“Is it okay to speak about everything in front of Jason?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said.

“I just have to ask. Well, Mr. Jackson, you are probably the luckiest man I’ve met.”

“I  _ really  _ don’t feel like it.”

“Let’s see, obviously the fall did some damage, a few cracked ribs, minor internal bleeding. Over time, you became malnourished and severely dehydrated. You inhaled a lot of smoke. You got a pretty nasty cut on your right hand, but that should heal up in about a week or so, and you had second-degree burns on your arms and back. When the floor collapsed from under you, you received a minor concussion and we believe that’s when you received the closed fracture in your forearm. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the extent of the injuries from your, ah, experiences.” Dr. Solace looked more intensely at the chart. 

“Doctor Solace-”

“Please, call me Will.”

“Will, then. Is Silena okay?”

A little smile crossed Will’s face. “Yes. Silena suffered a few second-degree burns as well and a sprained ankle, not to mention the various things they did to her, but she will be fine.”

“Now, a colleague of mine, Dr. Kayla Knowles, should be in soon. She’s going to evaluate your psyche, make sure everything is going to be okay, up top. In the meantime, get some rest, maybe catch up on the news?”

“What?”

“Well, that’s the other thing. Percy, you’ve been in a minor coma for about a week. The day you were brought in, you were resuscitated three times. Once by the EMTs on the scene, once by our nurses, and the last time Ms. Ch-”

His sentence was cut off by the door swinging open and a soaked Annabeth stumbling into the room, Piper just behind her.

“Percy!” She shouted, coming to me, quickly, but stopping about two feet from the bed. She shot a questioning glance to Will, who nodded, and then she hugged me. A little tighter than Jason had, but not enough to be uncomfortable. 

I didn’t know how long we stayed like that. I heard Jason mumble something about coffee to Piper and Will and suddenly Annabeth and I were alone together. 

I pulled Annabeth a little closer to me, breathing in her scent and ignoring the wet coldness against me. 

After a minute, Annabeth’s breathing became less steady. I pushed her away from me just enough to see her face.  _ God, she’s gorgeous _ .

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be such a mess. I just-”

Her sentence trailed off as my hand reached her face despite my palm being wrapped and my arm aching as I lifted it. Her eyes fluttered shut at my touch. I pulled her face to mine, not sure of how she felt and rested my forehead against hers closing my eyes and just feeling her near me.

“Percy,” she whispered.

“Annabeth,” I said.

“How do you feel?”

“I think I could run a marathon later,” I smirked.

She pulled her face from mine, making me frown. When I opened my eyes, they were met instantly with hers. She was scowling at me. 

“Percy.”

“Annabeth.”

“Percy, you died,” her voice broke and tears streamed down her face.

“Annabeth-”

“You died three times.”

“I feel alright. I’m a little achy, but-”

“Percy, I heard the voicemail. And the phone call.”

That shut me up. Of all the things I wanted, this was pretty freaking low on the list. I broke the eye contact.

“You tried to kill yourself,” she pressed.

I still didn’t say anything. I turned my head towards the window where rain was hitting the glass hard. 

“ _ Why _ ? Why would you do that? Why wouldn’t you just call me? Why did you believe hi-”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I cut her off. I kissed her. I kissed her hard and slow, making up for our lost time. After a minute or two, when we broke away from each other, catching our breath. 

“Percy?’

“I couldn’t risk it. You were just starting to get away from that monster. If he had you again? If he would let you go if I did what he asked? It would be worth it.”

“Per-”

“I love you, Annabeth. I think I always will. You don’t need to love me back. I can’t ask you to love me after everything, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you never wanted to see me again because unfortunately for me, I will always remind you of him. He tied himself to me whether I like it or not. So I understand if you-”

It was Annabeth’s turn to cut me off. Her lips pressed against mine, a soft, chaste kiss, that probably could have killed me.

She pulled away and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I love you, too,” she breathed. “Seaweed brain.”


	27. Annabeth's Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy is discharged from the hospital and Annabeth takes him to her apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT. SMUTTY SMUT-SMUT SMUT.   
> This chapter is mostly, you guessed it, smut.
> 
> If you don't want to read the smut, I'm putting a line right before the smut starts to pick up!  
> ((Basically, Annabeth picks Percy up from the hospital, they go to her apartment and do the do, then fall asleep))

**Annabeth’s POV**

_ He’s awake. He’s awake and he’s okay. He’s awake and he’s okay and he said he loves me. He loves me.  _

I was nearly buzzing standing there in the hallway of the hospital. He was  _ finally _ being released nearly two weeks later. I talked to the nurse about five minutes ago. I didn’t think it would take this long. I felt helpless as I just stood there and fiddled with my keys.  _ What if something was wrong? What if he went back under? What if- _

My worried thoughts were cut off as a grumpy looking man with messy, dark hair, bright green eyes, and a blue cast on his arm rounded the corner in a wheelchair, the nurse I had spoken to looking a bit frazzled while she pushed him. I couldn’t help but smile. He looked up from his lap and saw me. His eyes lit up, causing an ache in my chest and butterflies in my stomach. 

When he was within five feet of me he stood up from the wheelchair, waving off the nurse’s help.

“Thanks, Katie. I got it from here.”

Before I knew it, he was crashing into me, pressing his lips against mine hard. When he broke away a minute later, he pressed his forehead to mine.

“Not that I’m complaining or anything, but I thought Jason was picking me up?”

“He got called into work. I thought maybe we could just go to my place?”

Percy’s eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically.

We walked, hand in hand out of the hospital and it felt so  _ right _ .

By the time we got to my apartment building, I could feel Percy’s hand starting to shake. I squeezed it a little, hoping to calm him just a little. He was looking fairly intensely at the sidewalk and I wondered if this was maybe too much for him.

While we waited for the elevator, he looked pretty much anywhere but at me. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. As we stepped inside, I kept sneaking glances at him. I was worried about him, but I didn’t know what to say. He fiddled with the end of his shirt a little. I was still watching him as his eyes darted over to me, then quickly away.

I stepped out of the elevator before him, walking towards my door. When we were finally at my apartment door, I stopped and turned around.

“Percy, are you sure this is okay? If this is too much for you or if you’re uncomfortable we can go somewhere else or find something else to do-”

I didn’t get a chance to finish my sentence as he cut me off, capturing my lips with his and pressing me gently against the door. His hand was at the back of my neck, pulling me even closer to him and making up for the few inches of height difference. I set my hands on his hips, dropping his bag and pulling him until he was pressed against me, making him moan my name against my lips.

* * *

 

Percy’s good hand wandered down my body, not stopping until it reached the front pocket of my jeans. He slipped his fingers in and pulled my keys out, slipped them in the keyhole, unlocked and opened the door, all without breaking away from me.

As we stumbled into the apartment, the kisses became deeper, needier. Once I heard the door click shut, I pushed forward, pressing him against the door a little more forcefully than I had meant to, making Percy grunt a little.

“Oh! I’m sorry-” I started, but he wasn’t overly interested in letting me finish sentences today, apparently, as he caught my lips with his. I watched as his eyes looked me over, turning dark and following my every move as I stepped away to kick off my shoes and hang up my coat. 

Percy came up from behind, pressing against me, and started kissing and sucking at my neck. I let out a sigh. I could feel his excitement through the sweatpants he was wearing. “Perse-” I sighed. His hands, which had been resting on my hips, started to move, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind them.

One hand found its way under my shirt to the hooks of my bra, pulling at them slightly, and the other down the front of my jeans rubbing my clit gently. I let out a breathy moan and Percy stopped dead in his tracks.

“Percy?” I said, pulling his arms away from me so I could turn to face him. “What’s wrong?”

He grinned a little. “You’re out of breath,” he noted. I raised my eyebrows at him. “You’re out of breath  _ already _ .”

“Oh, shut up,” I said as I grasped the back of his neck, pulling his face to mine. It wasn’t a sweet kiss or a gentle one for that matter. It was greedy. I’d waited so long. I’d lost him. But here he was. He was mine and I wanted him. 

I told him to shut up and he did. We did a sort of messy waltz down the hallway. I pushed him into my room and onto the bed, turning to close the door behind me. 

When I turned back around, he had pushed himself up on the elbow of his good arm and had a sly look on his face. I answered his quirked eyebrow with a smirk of my own as I grabbed the bottom of my shirt to pull it over my head. His gaze moved slowly up and down my body, following each article of clothing I removed.

I started to remove my bra and panties when Percy sat up.

“Wait, leave those there,” he said quickly.

“Okay?” I answered as he stood up, swiftly filling the space between us. 

He pulled me into a soft kiss. I felt his casted hand resting on my waist and his good arm snaking around my back. I pulled out of the kiss as it reached the hooks of my bra.

“Percy, you’ve only got one hand and I don’t want you to accidentally pull your stitches or-” I was cut off as he popped my bra hooks out. 

Percy quirked an eyebrow. “You were saying?” he murmured, his voice sweet yet dark, but before I could even think to answer him, his mouth was on mine again and he was discarding my bra who knows where.

He pulled me even closer, so close that I swore I could feel his heartbeat against my chest. Suddenly we were off-balance. The back of his legs had hit the bed and he fell onto the mattress with a soft thud and a chuckle. I smirked at him, climbing onto the bed to straddle him. I brushed against the front of his pants and he sighed, pulling my face down to meet his.

Right before our lips would have met, I rolled my hips against his, a test. This time it elicited a moan. I moved closer to him, my lips pressed right next to his ear.

“Percy,” I breathed. I felt him shiver beneath me. “I want you to take me.”

This set off a whole new man. Despite his arm being in a cast, Percy was all over me, good hand roaming, touching all the right places, leaving trails of fire everywhere in between. I couldn’t pay attention to what was coming out of my mouth at any given time. Strings of curse words, his name, I love yous when he’d hit just the right spot and send me over the edge. I lost count of how many times he put me over the edge. 

But then he was on top of me and his clothes were gone.  _ When did  _ that _ happen? _ His mouth still sucking on my neck and collarbone. I was about to protest the position as he could only hold himself up with one arm, but then he slipped into me, causing us both to moan a little. I wasn’t even thinking when Percy said “ _ shit _ , wait,” and pulled out of me. 

“What?” I nearly whined. Percy smirked at me as he stood up. 

“Just need a condom, hon,” he whispered, kissing my thigh. 

I sighed and that devilish grin came back. He kissed my thigh again, I sighed again. Soon it turned into moaning. He was so close to being where I needed him, but he refused to move. 

“Percy…” I said between heaving breaths. “Drawer...there... _ please _ ,” I whimpered.

All of a sudden he was gone. I opened my eyes and he was at my nightstand, where I’d directed him. Within seconds the condom was on him and he was back on top and inside me.

“I wanna try something,” he whispered into my ear. All I could do was nod. He pulled out a little, pausing before pushing back in, hard. I gasped and gripped his shoulders.

“Okay?” he asked. I nodded vigorously, and he was moving again. I gripped his shoulders, feeling my fingertips dig in a little as he pounded into me. I moaned and yelled and came so many times that I couldn’t think straight. Percy was all there was.

“I can’t- Beth, I’m gonna-” he struggled. I breathed out affirmations, begging him to let go. He finished with a groan and a few pumps for good measure before rolling off of me. After a minute or two, he sat up, removing and disposing of the condom. He used a tissue from my nightstand to clean himself up before laying back down. 

I moved to lay my head on his chest and I pressed my ear against it, listening to his heartbeat. His breathing evened out soon and I found myself dozing off as well. 

_ I’m so glad you’re finally mine _ .


	28. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Percy and Annabeth get ready to leave. A little bit of comforting.

“Hon? You good in there? I thought you said you’d be done in five minutes?”

“I  _ will _ be!”

“It’s been ten!”

“Oh, hush!”

Percy chuckled and shook his head. He made an attempt at straightening his tie as he took a deep breath in. He could smell her perfume from here, the sweet flowery scent drifting from the bedroom. He sat down at the kitchen table and fiddled with the edge of a placemat. By the time Annabeth came from their shared bedroom, Percy was still messing with the placemat, a slight scowl on his face, his eyes focusing on something far away. 

“Perse?” Annabeth said gently. She extended her hand to touch his shoulder but hesitated. She knew that when he got like this he could be a little unpredictable. Maybe she shouldn’t…

No, she shook the thought away. He needed her.

She placed her hand on Percy’s shoulder, rubbing gentle circles.

“Percy? Percy, it’s okay, I’m he-”

Percy’s hand grabbed hers and his head whipped around to look at her. His sea-green eyes were wide and darkened with anger, sorrow, and fear. A second later he came back to reality. He quickly let go of his rough grip on her hand, turning away and shutting his eyes tightly.

“Percy?”

“I’m sorry, Annabeth. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright, Percy,” she whispered, kneeling down to cup the side of his face. “I’m here.”

Slowly, with more quiet affirmations from Annabeth, Percy opened his eyes and held Annabeth’s gaze. 

“Let’s go, we’re gonna be late.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Annabeth’s gray eyes were filled with sympathy and worry.

Percy gave a small smile. “Yeah, I’ll be alright,” he said, taking Annabeth’s hand and pressing a kiss to her palm. “And if I’ve got you by my side, I know I’ll get through it.”

Annabeth stood up, smoothing her dress and for the first time since she’d come out of the bedroom, he caught a glimpse of what she was wearing. The gown was a navy blue, hugging her curves and splitting in the front, revealing her tanned legs. Percy felt his jaw slacken and he did nothing to stop it from dropping open. He tried to come up with the words to tell her how beautiful she looked but nothing fit. No words were good enough.

She caught his eye and smiled. “You like the dress?”

Percy nodded vigorously. 

“And you think I look beautiful?” she chuckled as Percy nodded so much she thought his head might wobble off.

“And you want to tell me how beautiful you think I am, but you can’t find the words?”

Percy chuckled. “How do you do that?” He stood up, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her against him.

“Well, three years of being with you helps and besides you get this way anytime I dress up,” she said before letting out a sigh as Percy placed gentle kisses on her neck and collar bones.

“I can’t help it, you’re gorgeous,” Percy whispered between kisses. 

“Percy,” Annabeth nearly whined as she felt her face get hot.

“And yes, I love that dress and it looks perfect on you, but…” he trailed off to focus on kissing that spot behind her ear that always drove her crazy. 

“Perse, we have to-” her halfhearted protest melted into a quiet moan.

He pulled away from her, looking her straight in the eyes. His eyes were dark again but now with pure lust. “I think it’d look even better on the bedroom floor,” he stated simply.

It was Annabeth’s turn to be speechless now. Gods, she did  _ not _ want to refuse him when he was looking at her like that. But still, they had to go…

Her thoughts must have translated onto her face as Percy sighed, dropping his head down. “Yeah, I know, I guess we  _ can’t _ miss our best friends’ wedding.”

Annabeth let out a small breath, but she was unsure of whether it was relief or disappointment. “Especially since we’re-”

“The best man and maid of honor, yeah, I know.” Percy took a deep breath before standing up straight and offering his arm. “Madam?”

She giggled a little. “Why, thank you, sir.”

They were generally quiet in the car, only small bits of conversation passing between them, mostly about how happy they were for Piper and Jason.

Percy reached over, taking Annabeth’s hand in his as he drove.

“There’s been something on my mind,” he said.

Annabeth’s brow wrinkled with concern. “Tell me?”

“Back when we first met, before...before everything, I told you I wanted to do this right.”

“I remember.”

“Did I?”

“Yes,” she smiled without hesitation. “I love you, Percy Jackson.”

A smile spread across his face. “I love you, too, Annabeth Chase-Jackson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thanks for reading my first-ever completed multi-chapter work! This was a random idea I had and I started writing it and I never expected anyone to be even remotely interested!   
> If you're on tumblr and want to get bonus content ((read: random shit about writing I reblog, ideas, I'm thinking about making moodboards, etc)) AND my works, here ya go: https://akarifields1008.tumblr.com/
> 
> Thank you for reading!!!


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